Rav Kook Teachings

From the Well of Kindness:
Teachings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook
translated by Yaacov Dovid Shulman
From the Well of Kindness: Teachings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook translation 8 2006 by Yaacov David Shulman yacovdavid@gmail.com
From the Well of Kindness:

Teachings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook
translated by Yaacov David Shulman
From the Well of Kindness - 4
Teachings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook - 5
TABLE OF CONTENTS Encouragement Silence Song Poetry and Beauty Souls Teshuvah (Repentance) Imagination Visualization Intent Intelligence Feeling Kindness Ethics Character Traits Faith Prayer Spiritual Thirst Joy Love of God Fear of God Sexuality Spirituality and Physicality Good and Evil Death Redemption Universalism Love of Israel Land of Israel Young People Torah Tzaddik (Holy Person) Rabbi Kook
Holidays Letters of the Alphabet Animal Kingdom Jew and Gentile Historical Forces Jewish Literature Science Additional, As Yet Unclassified Translations
ENCOURAGEMENT
Pearls When you sense that you have fallen, consider this: you have to draw forth precious pearls from the depths of the abyss. When you know this, you will rise. You will renew your abilities with strength and tranquility. You will approach the everlasting light with more capability than you had ever had before. This rule applies to the entire generation. It governs reality forever. Orot Hakodesh III, p. 252 Do Not Set Aside Any Exalted Goal Do not set aside any exalted goal that you can envision, even if it seems that the obstacles are many, whether from the outside or from your own personality. As you strive, visualize inner truth. In this way, you will align your present knowledge with your conceptual insight. You will unify your aspiration with the ideal part of what you already know. Arpelei Torah, p. 42 Realms of Darkness When you feel humiliated, empty, lacking all spiritual strength, when you fall and stumble, realize that a great light has been prepared for you. All of your imperfections and all the damage that you have causedBthis-worldly, spiritual, things you did or didn=t do throughout your lifeBall stand before you. Everything you ever did
wrong testifies against you. You are stunned. You feel great anguish, and from the midst of that anguish you experience regret. Then you rise up and repent. You rise up from the depth of the abyss to the elevated pinnacle, from impurity to purity, from blackness to a great light. As you emerge and rise, you have to pass through realms of darkness that overwhelm you and eclipse you. But be aware that AGod is merciful and gracious,@ that Aeven though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall not fear evil, for God is with me.@ When you cry out to God from the midst of the confusions of the abyss, your voice will be heard. When you call out for the light of knowledge, it will shine on you. Wisdom and kindness will support you and crown you. You will swiftly return to the citadel, filled with wisdom, joy and strength. Orot Hakodesh III, p. 252
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SILENCE
Prepare Yourself for the Measure of Silence The entire realm of consciousness, with everything that comes from it, down to the very lowest levels (in other words, the entirety of existence) shifts between times of silence and times of speech. When the universe prepares itself to receive God=s supernal outpouring, everything is still and silent. Then, when those forces that have received God=s outpouring sent onward to those below them, speech begins. Our human reality also shifts in this manner. When we direct our minds to improving qualities that lie below our inner, spiritual level, then our consciousness is constricted, and we are active in the world. But when our supernal attention grows strong, this constricted consciousness can no longer act. At that time, silence begins to rule. When you reach this level, the normal activity of consciousness (whether it is dealing with everyday or holy matters) is below you. You find within yourself a great, unceasing opposition to any activity of consciousness that is rational and structured. Prepare yourself for the measure of silence. Take heed of the voice from above that brings blessing and good will and spontaneously gives these to you. God=s word will come to you. Day to day expresses speech. Orot Hakodesh I, p. 116 The Special Quality of Silence [this teaching is not clear to me]
There is a special type of silence that is accompanied by a spirit of holiness. That silence emerges from something within you bursting forth. Something bursts forth from the midst of the wellspring of your soul. Your soul bursts forth because it is searching for a great arena where it can spread out and stretch itself without any constriction. Inner meditation is very demanding. It seeks to ascend without letting anything in the world disturb it. It gains its forms and hues from its inner strength. Then the spiritual light, which is the beauty and basic strength of life, grows stronger. Then you speak; and this, with its ability to build, shakes things up. It raises you from the old, which is already tottering and tenebrous, limited and cramped. Your speech connects you to the current of the wellspring, which slakes a thirst for the new and fresh. Some silence means cessation of speech. Another silence means cessation of thought. That silence arrives together with the most hidden, beautiful and exalted thought. These matters ascend constantly, level after level. Matzah silences superficial uproar, all movement and selfelevation within the framework of life. Matzah silences the superficial currents. Parallel to this is the revelation of God=s Presence, which is accompanied by a great fear that penetrates to the depth of the
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secret of silence. Matzah expresses itself in a glorious voice to which silence is attached. AThe Pesach sacrifice that one eats is the size of an olive. Yet one's Hallel resounds as though the roof would burst forth@ (Pesachim 88b). Orot Hakodesh III, 273
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SONG
Singer of Wholeness Singer of wholeness, Are you yet born? If your soul is still bound In the bond of heaven, The bond of life, Descend to us soon. Play your harp-Let the down-hearted hear, Let the disillusioned listen To the murmur of your strings-And be revived. Orot Hateshuvah, p. 144 The Return to Nature There are three levels upon which the individual and collective perfection of Israel must be based. These are the return to nature, to human ethics, and to the national foundation. Supernal holiness rests only upon these three. The highest divine service is connected directly to nature. But this supernal holiness was polluted by human defilement, which destroyed the service of nature and turned it into a monster of idolatry rather than a firm foundation for supernal idealism. The lofty luminosity of Adam contained within itself a supernal quality rising higher than the clear lens of prophecy that was attained by Moses. "To work and guard" the garden of Eden is the radiance of supernal life: to eat of the Tree of Life and know nothing at all of any evil, because it is completely impossible that there should exist in the physical and spiritual world--which is so perfect, which is the work of the hands of the Creator of everything--anything evil. Everything in its season and its time is
solely good. "God made man straight." Engaging in the AChapter of song@ is the foundation of this return to nature. This is a lowly return that is high, that rises beyond all national jealousy, lifting man to become an elevated brother to his other brothers, the creations of the Almighty, who all know their Maker and take pleasure in the glory of His activity. Everything rises to the heights of holiness. In this, we acquire a guarantee that we will not descend constantly downward, that we will not be transformed into a tool of death, destroying ourselves and others. The name of God must exist, and the light of His Torah that shines on earth and accompanies humanity through all its phases, so that we will not fall into the deep pit that caused us to stumble in ancient days. "In the blood of your covenant, I sent your prisoners forth from a pit that contained no water" (Zechariah 9:11). Orot Hakodesh II, pp. 493-94 A New Song Jealousy between scribes increases wisdom (Bava Basra 21a). Because this wisdom comes from jealousy, in the end it will disintegrate. Everything that disintegrates has an unpleasant odor. And so the sages said that "in the end of days before the messiah comes, the wisdom of the sages will [be despised, as though it has] an unpleasant odor" (Sotah 49b). This unpleasant odor will destroy the form that the wisdom of the sages had had. Then it will begin to radiate the light of the soul of supernal wisdom, which transcends all jealousy and which is higher than the wisdom of the sages. This wisdom will come to light by means of a "new song." "The mouth of Hashem shall designate a new name [for Israel]@ (Isaiah 62:2). Then Israel's "beauty will be like the olive
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tree, and its scent like Lebanon" (Hosea 14:7). Arpelei Torah, p. 59
POETRY AND BEAUTY

The Awareness of Poetry and Beauty
Each new Torah insight must basically be ideal: Based On the depth of rectitude in our ethical being; On the depth of holiness in our faithful being; On the depth of expression in our intellectual being; Enveloped in the awareness of poetry and beauty In our creative being. Orot Hakodesh I, p. 178 The Poetic Soul If your soul is poetic, you must be acquainted with your character, your particular longings, desires, the path of your soul and the special spiritual sustenance it requires to satisfy its spiritual life, just as air is required to breathe. You may join with other gifted people for other spiritual necessities. But never forget that you are summoned to stand firm Upon your own spiritual foundation. From your spirit, Which is pure and powerful, Filled with a song that is holy, alive and unblemished, Sprinkle upon all service of God, All discussion, teachings, examinations, analyses, logic, Pure streams of light, Expressions of song, Elevation of the soul, Which constantly desires Her Beloved, her Redeemer, The living God.
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When the poetic, sensitive soul Gazes upon supernal matters of greatness Before they have been put in order for her And well-arranged, She descends to an activism Regarding finite, this-worldly matters. She is susceptible at every step to enthusiasms Whose particular character is falsehood. At such a time, an exalted individual Must find the inspiring foundation From which that spirit of falsehood comes forth So poetically, And rectify its character internally, Without expressing the spirit in unavailing words. Then the idea proceeds, Reflecting heavenly matters of greatness. In this context, the greatest exaggeration Merely indicates the smallest expression Of what heaven is. And if then, from the midst of the flow of spirit That constantly ascends, Rising beyond all boundaries, There are still, at times, Obvious mis-statements, These are "an error that appears to come From the Ruler of the world" (Ecclesiastes 10:5). They too have their purpose. Such this-worldly words Shall be a source of blessing And learning. Orot Hakodesh III, p. 215
SOULS
Mighty Buildings He whose soul does not soar in the wide expanses, he who does not seek the light of truth and goodness with all his heart, does not suffer spiritual devastation. But neither does he acquire mighty buildings. He takes shelter in the shade of natural havens, like the hares who take shelter in the clefts of the rock. But when a person has a robust soul, his soul can shelter only in structures that he erects with his spiritual toil, never ceasing from his vigorous labor. Malachim Kivnei Adam, p. 484 The Inclination for Spiritual Greatness When you want to learn, but in every topic you approach your spirit is not at rest and it seems to you that you must choose another topic, this is because of the profusion of thought that desires to embrace everything and does not want to leave anything isolated and limited. It is necessary to overcome this imperfection, a lack whose cause is over fulness. But you cannot act to attain this victory as you would in overcoming an imperfection that comes from baseness. Ultimately, we must know that it is impossible to uproot from the soul the inclination for spiritual greatness and breadth that it has already attained. [?] Arpelei Torah, p. 57 Constant Self-Revelation Do not oppose the essential soul when it reveals itself. That self-revelation is constant. Even when the thickest clouds mask the soul's brilliant light, it shines with all its power. It carries the world and every human being to the goal of his fulfillment--a
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goal that transcends all definitions. The soul speaks without speaking. It acts without acting. With it alone do we ascend those steps to which we are impelled by the impulse of that which is truly life, in its most profound mysteries. "Then shall you rejoice in God." This is the secret of thirst and the mystery of its quenching. Orot Hakodesh I, p. 173 The Inner Spark The very essence of the soul, which expresses and experiences the true, spiritual life, requires complete inner freedom. This freedom is its life. This freedom comes to the soul from the midst of its essential thought, its inner spark. Our learning and contemplation cause this spark to continually flame. But really, this independent spark is the basis of idea and thought. If room is not provided for the independent spark with its light to appear, then whatever comes to it from without will be of no avail. This spark must be guarded in its purity. Then the inner thought--in the depth of its truth, in its greatness and exaltedness-will awaken. Then this holy spark will not be extinguished because of any learning and any contemplation. The internal unity of the soul in its core represents the supernal greatness of the illuminated, Divine seed--"light is sown for the righteous." From this seed, the fruit of the tree of life shall sprout and blossom. Orot Hakodesh I, p. 175 Consolation for Every Monstrous Vision At times, your soul is revealed to you in all its naked ugliness--and you are repulsed by the vision. But only in this way can you calm your spirit: for corresponding to the ugliness of the
soul and its impurity, so will its beauty and purity grow. "One corresponding to the other did God create them." After you strengthen yourself and rise beyond the shocking vision of that aspect of ugliness--so that the aspect of purity shines before your eyes, the aspect of the beauty within your soul, and your eyes, seeing, are illumined--then you will gain consolation for every monstrous vision that had terrified you. AThe humble will increase their joy in God, and the most impoverished will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah 29:19). Orot Hakodesh III, p. 251 The Inner, Essential "I" "I am in the midst of the exile" (Ezekiel 1:1). The inner, essential "I"--whether individual or communal-does not appear by itself. Rather, it appears in relation to our holiness and purity. It appears in relation to the amount of supernal power that, with the pure light of an elevated illumination, burns within us. "Both we and our forefathers sinned" (Psalms 106:6). This refers to the sin of Adam, who was alienated from his essential being. He turned to the consciousness of the serpent, and thus he lost himself. He could not clearly answer the question, "Where are you?", because he did not know himself, because he had lost his true "I." He had bowed to a strange god. And that was the sin of Israel, who "ran after foreign gods" (Deuteronomy 31:16). We abandoned our essential "I@: "Israel rejected goodness" (Hosea 8:3). In the days of creation, the earth itself sinned. It denied its own essence. It constricted its power and went after limited goals and
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purposes. It did not give all of its hidden power so that the taste of the tree could be equal to the taste of its fruit. Instead, it raised its eyes to look outside of itself. It considered a trivial future and way of being. At that time as well, the moon complained. As a result, it lost its internal orbit, the joy of its portion. It was dreaming of a superficial beauty of royalty. Thus does the world continue, sinking into the destruction of every "I"--of the individual and of the whole. Learned educators come and focus on the superficial. They too remove their consciousness from the "I." They add straw to the fire, give vinegar to the thirsty, and fatten minds and hearts with everything that is external to them. And the "I" gets progressively forgotten. And when there is no "I," there is no "He," and how much more is there no "You." The Messiah is called "the breath of our nostrils, the anointed one of God" (Lamentations 4:20). This is his might, the beauty of his greatness: that he is not outside of us. He is the breath of our nostrils. Let us seek Hashem our God and David our king. Let us tremble before God and His goodness. Let us seek our AI.@ Let us seek ourselves--and find. Remove all foreign gods, remove every stranger and illegitimate one. Then "you will know that I am Hashem your God, Who takes you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am Hashem." Orot Hakodesh III, pp. 140-41 Your Independent Intuition It is not the intent of any influence that comes from outside
yourself and into your inner being--whether from secular or holy sources--to silence your spirit and mute your independent intuition. Rather, its intent is to bathe you with a flow of light, so that you will absorb it into the essence of who you are. In this way, and from the midst of this, your independent sense will grow ever stronger. When you are desolated by internal shoddiness, you think that the intention of everything that comes from outside yourself is to abrade your independent sense of reality, to make you crumple, and you totter. You become short-tempered and you cease to grow. Together, the holy and the secular influence your spirit. When you integrate them, you are enriched. You must take what is fitting from each of them. From the holy, take the light of life and an inner character. From the secular, take the container, the superficial understanding that provides a basis for grasping the content. The secular provides material for analogies and explanations, for contexts in which to understand the ways of the world and good character traits. There is a spirit of abundance that is the awareness of division between the holy and the secular. That abundance becomes ever more clear when you gather the wealth of these various sources. It strengthens and illumines your spirit. At last, you come to the innermost circle of Torah. The diseased cloud within you that hides the Torah begins to glow more and more with the light of Torah. Out of the mist, lights are revealed in their full beauty. Orot Hakodesh I, pp. 67-68 Even a Pleasant Conversation
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If we imagine we are rectifying universes with our service of God, but we don't know the worth of our soul--or, in general, the make-up of spirituality--we will be filled with fantasies and delusions. But we may know the following. With every moral improvement, every good trait we attain, every worthy teaching we learn, and every good deed we perform--even the very smallest, even a pleasant conversation--we lift the spirituality within ourselves, that spirituality which is the foundation of our entire being. And so by lifting that spirituality within ourselves, an entire being is lifted. Each one of us is a piece of reality that is powerfully linked to all of existence. And so one part of existence has been elevated. And that in turn raises all of existence. In this way, with every bit of goodness, we rectify endless worlds. When this awareness is part of our consciousness, our mind broadens. Our illusions diminish and come ever closer to truth. Midot Harayah, p. 93 Great Qualities That We Do Not Possess At times we may grow distressed, hearing of some great quality that we ourselves do not possess. We may become as nothing in our eyes. Then depression starts to tarnish the luster of our soul. In the presence of that quality of greatness that we cannot attain, our spirituality grows dull. At such times, we must fortify ourselves not to envy another's fortune. We must use our feeling of insignificance only
to an appropriate degree: to overcome ego, so as not to grow proud. But we should be satisfied and joyful with our lot. We should cling ever more forcefully to our strong points. Then our light will break forth like the dawn, and our healed spirit will swiftly blossom. Arpelei Torah, p. 80
Recognize Your Nature There are people who have left the path of traditional Judaism because they betrayed their personal, unique approach in Torah learning and spiritual self-perfection. Let us take the example of a person who is suited for aggadah. His constitution is not fit for spending the bulk of his time learning halachah. But since he does not appreciate his distinctive character, he follows the general practice and steeps himself in the study of halachah. In his spirit, however, he feels an opposition to what he is doing, because such in-depth learning is not in accord with the nature of his essential capabilities. If he were to recognize his proclivity and nurture it, immersing himself regularly in the area of Torah that suits the character of his spirit, he would recognize immediately that the feeling of opposition he had experienced when learning halachic matters did not come about because of any essential lack of these holy and necessary topics, but rather because he had been seeking another area of Torah on which to concentrate. Realizing this, he would remain faithful in an elevated manner to the holiness of the Torah. He would succeed in Torah in the area that is suited for him. And he would help those whose strong point is halachah, by giving them a taste of the pleasure of aggadah. However, if he does not recognize the reason for his feeling of opposition to learning and continues to battle against his nature, as soon as a non-Torah path opens before him, he breaks out onto it. He becomes an enemy and rebel against Torah and faith,
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growing ever more alienated. It is from such people that the wild ones of our nation have come forth, people who claim to present a vision, yet who blind the eyes of the world. from Orot Hatorah 9:6 The Soul of a Jew Must Grow Broad A Jew=s soul must grow broad. It must be aflame and grow mighty. We must remove all obstacles upon its path, everything that does not help it proceed on its way. Moreover, we must help it so that spiritual content will be available to it, and so that every mixture of temperament will help it blossom. [?] This is the secret of Torah in this world, and of all the paths of life of faith and holiness. Arpelei Torah, p. 18 Spiritual Confidence An upright person must believe in his life. We must believe that our lives and that our feelings come directly from the foundation of our spirit are good and straight, and that they lead upon a straight path. The Torah must be a lamp to our feet, by means of which we will see where error is likely--for at times our spirit will go astray upon a pathless wasteland. But our constant attitude must be one of spiritual confidence. A Jew is obligated to believe that a divine soul, in essence one letter of the Torah, dwells within him. And a letter of the Torah is a complete world, constantly and infinitely growing. Even the spiritual ramifications [?] of a grain of sand have no measure or limitation. And all the years of our lives will not suffice to explain the entire wealth of laws founded in wisdom and
interwoven with knowledge and awesome might that lie within us. And how much more must the entire Jewish people believe clearly and fervently in its life, in its predilections, [?] and proceed confidently. Then it will know how to use the light of the living Torah. Orot Hatorah 11:2 The Withholding of Tranquility In essence, spiritual toil and the withholding of inner tranquility are the result of distancing ourselves from what our soul's capabilities have made us fit for. Arpelei Tohar, p. 46 The Relationship Between All Souls The flash of light that unveils the relationship between all souls of all generations with the soul of an adept as he engages in visualization is the beginning of the holy spirit. When you develop this holy ability with regular practice, and connect it to wisdom and good deeds, you will rise level by level, and come to a number of realizations. "Open the gates of justice for me; I will enter them, I will thank God." Arpelei Torah, p. 108 A Torn Soul Whoever has said that my soul is torn spoke well. It is certainly torn. I cannot imagine a person whose soul is not torn. Only a lifeless object is whole, but a human being is filled with conflicting desires, and an inner war rages within him continuously. The purpose of all my work is to mend the rents within my spirit by means of an all-inclusive viewpoint in whose greatness
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and exaltedness everything is embraced and comes to complete harmony. Malachim Kivnei Adam
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TESHUVAH (REPENTANCE)
Fecundity and Effusion Supernal repentance, which comes from great love and clear understanding, raises the content of all learning to a degree of fecundity and effusion that cannot be found in any learning in and of itself. Orot Hatorah 6:3 A Great and Dangerous War At times, as we struggle to cling to an elevated spirituality, all the forces of spiritual life ascend to the world of supernal thought. As a result, our body is bereft of our soul, and we are ruled by evil traits. Afterwards, when have finished meditating and the force of life returns to its regular course, our soul finds our body broken, with all its qualities impaired. Then begins a very great and dangerous war. And so the ascent of our gaze must be preceded by repentance and the desire to purify our traits. Then our traits maintain some sort of contact between our body and soul--even when our soul ascends to the heights. Arpelei Torah, p. 16 The Power That Turns the Universe In the world, there exist both gradual development and sudden leaps forward. There are soulful people whose trait of leaping forward is stronger than their gradual growth. This is the character of the Jews: deeply influenced by the concept of teshuvah, yearning for the most exalted realities. Our surroundings and conditions may not be in concert with that.
Nevertheless, our powerful yearning is the power that turns the universe, and gives forth the most perfect wealth that may be found within life. Orot Hakodesh II, p. 567 When Your Thought is Connected to Holiness Sins stand as a barrier before the clear, divine light, which shines its great brightness upon every soul. These sins darken our soul and make it cloudy. Teshuvah, even if it is only a thought, brings about a great salvation. But we make our potential teshuvah reall, a complete redemption comes to our soul. At any rate, when our thought is connected to holiness and the desire for teshuvah, we have no reason to fear. We can be sure that God will summon all the means that are necessary for us to attain the complete teshuvah that illuminates all dark places with the light of its life-force. In accordance with the great worth of teshuvah, so is the Torah blessed and clarified--more and more. Our learning grows pure and clear. As the verse states: "God will not despise a heart that is broken and crushed" (Psalms 51:19). Orot Hateshuvah, 7:5 Why Do We Fall? Why do we fall? Because we do not realize how easy repentance is. Orot Hateshuvah 14:4a Desire to Repent If you want to become completely righteous, you will find it hard to even repent.
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But always desire to repent. Immerse yourself in the idea. Yearn to see the manifestation of repentance in action. Then your repentance will lift you to the level of a completely righteous person--and even higher. Orot Hateshuvah, 14:36 The Teshuvah of Rosh Hashanah "From the straits have I called God. Answer me in the breadth of God" (Psalms 118:4). The mouth of the shofar is narrow, and then it grows broader. This alludes to the path of teshuvah. As the Rambam explains, first, there is individual teshuvah, and then a general teshuvah. The first is an introduction to the latter. That is to say, the teshuvah of the month of Elul is an introduction to the teshuvah of Rosh Hashanah. In Elul, we are engaged in personal teshuvah. But on Rosh Hashanah we rise to the level of the desire of teshuvah not only for the entire nation--"recite the malchiyot before Me in order to coronate me over you" (Rosh Hashanah 16a)--but for the entire world: "Rule over the entire world in Your glory." Moadei Harayah, p. 60
IMAGINATION
The Appearance of Creativity [?] Our spirit places within us the image of its creations. We recognize that angel, filled with life, who sits upon the birth stool, bringing forth its works. That angel is flying in the heights, approaching us, appearing to our souls--behold, it comes! We welcome that angel with great peace and joy. The angel appreciates our affection in the most refined, pure, alive and strong manner--more than we ourselves, encased in physicality, can appreciate it. And then, we have finished the work of creation--or it has suddenly, unfinished, ceased. Lift your eyes upon the angel--yet it is not there. The cherub has taken flight and risen to the heights-and our spirit is diminished. We then concern ourselves with Torah and wisdom, good deeds and character improvement, in order to gain connection to our holy angels, in order to strengthen our own might with the great power of the gracious God, Who appears to us in His light and salvation. A host of different states mingles within us. Strength and weakness meet, love and abhorrence mix, trust and fear act as one, light and darkness are in confusion. All this results from the paucity of our purification. Let us rise higher. The return to Godliness shall grow and rise with mighty strength; the will shall rise in its holy exaltation. We ascend beyond the flesh and its pollutions, we ascend beyond the falsehood and seduction of our environment. In truth, we cleave to truth; the light waxes stronger, and life is exalted. Orot Hakodesh I, p. 167 Illumination of the Soul As long as you must wait for particular periods of time for
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the spirit of creativity to occur to you--at which opportunity you will generate ideas, contemplate them, express them and sing them--this is a sign that the light of your soul has not rested upon you. Your soul sings constantly, clothed in strength and beauty, surrounded by supernal sweetness. You must rise to the heights and meet your soul. You must recognize its spiritual progress, the rustle of its wings filled with a glory of the holy of holies; one must be constantly ready to listen to the secret of its holy speech. Then you will know that it is not at some particular time or period that the soul generates wisdom and expression, song and holy speech, but rather that at every moment and every hour it pours forth rivers and streams of milk and honey. The river that flows from the soul comprises the treasuries of holiness, the wellsprings of understanding and the hidden sources of good wisdom. "New in the morning, great is Your faithfulness." With an inner gaze into the depths of the soul, we see that the active, constant power of true, supernal life does not cease working for even a moment. That power races and returns like the lightning in Ezekiel's vision. Its work is the service of the holy seraphim. It constantly bursts forth in joy and song, telling the glory of God. The essential "I" of someone who possesses this supernal soul is stupendous. But when the mighty faith is diminished by that "I," it goes in mourning, and that person is desolate. And the radiance of the entire world is diminished with him. But when he returns in a supernal manner, when the glory of faith with its supernal powers (which pulse within him constantly and unfailingly) returns to him, then his soul will live and shine forth. All the worlds that are at his feet and accompany with him will be filled with radiance and illumination. Orot Hakodesh I, pp. 172-3 The Flow of the Soul's Creativity
Those who possess great souls live from within the wellspring of their being. These wise, creative people, to whom that which is new is the foundation of their lives, recognize the constatn spreading forth of who they rae and the intensification of their spiritual powers only in newness as it pours forth (as it ceaselessly streams before their spiritual sight). They recognize the soul in the depth of its primal being, constantly pouring forth its cataracts. No less real than a luminous body unceasingly radiating light, so does the soul as it knows, desires, feels and visualizes-pour forth the rays of its spiritual, living light. This stream pours forth with ever greater might, with ever greater creativity. No amount of pages can suffice to explain even a part of the vision within even the smallest of people as their souls stream forth vision. This wealth grows until, within the sublime thinkers, the greatest creators: it reaches such a wondrous level that the masses are astonished at the illuminations that they reveal in their fruitful creations. This is the case even though that which is revealed isBnecessarilyBthe lowest level of the essence of creation. As for the essence of the creation in its hidden aspect, wondrous are its acts. Its streams, the streams of the mind, rush forth, and we cannot grasp the inner essence, the quality and details of these flowing streams. The worthiest talent is being able to penetrate into the depth of who we essentially are. Yet how trivial is the work of that talent. How greatly does it impose toil and weariness of soul upon the sublime heights. To the degree that we recognize this and recognize how that as we penetrate our being we must grow aware of the demand of the inner Edenic quietude, sublime being within creativity will grow. Then sparks of holiness will begin to shoot forth upon all of life and its spiritual rays. At even the most infinitesimal moment, we create--whether knowingly or not--a profusion of endless creations. If we will only
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teach ourselves how to feel them, to bring them into the realm of our conscious recognition, to habituate ourselves to bring them into the framework of appropriate expressions, hten their beauty and glory will be revealed. Before all the living, their effect will be revealed. The eternal truths flow from the wellspring of life, from the source of the soul that does not know anything meaningless or false. That soul is carved from the torch of truth. Whatever streams from its light will be nothing but truth and righteousness forever. Orot Hakodesh I, pp. 170-71 The Creative Soul It is impossible to interrupt the creativity of a person whose soul by its nature creates unceasingly. When a peson is oppressed by spiritual malaise, this is only because he believes that creativity is a burden. But the closer we come to its secret, the more do we realize that it is neither burdensome nor wearisome. We imitate our Maker. The Holy One, blessed be He, did not create His world thorugh toil and siuffering; He perfected it without fatigue and exhaustion, but via a letter of the alphabet, which has no weight and suffers no weariness. The true tzaddikim, who are supernal, holy beings, in their essence rise beyond all toil and fatigue. They would be satisfied to endure toil and trouble, suffering and difficulty, sacrifice and backbreaking labor, in order to do the will of the living God and King of the world, the Creator of their souls, the King of Israel and its Redeemer, the Master of all creatures and God of all spirits. But despite their readiness to do so, they are filled with tranquility and peace. The stsream of delights flows constantly in their holy souls. A breath of richness and abundance suffuses their breath, spirit and body, their entire inner being, their bones and flesh. From the midst of the delight of
this supernal glory, they take pleasure in a supernal fear and love as they serve God in their spirits= every breath and in the entirety of their lives and movements. Theirs is an entire supernal, Godly service, uninterrupted, never ceasing. The flow from this well of mindfulness and emotion constantly pours into them from every direction. All that they heed, hear and feel physically and emotionally expresses glory expresses "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts, the earth is filled with His glory," expresses peace and blessing to every living thing, to all flesh. "The heavens and earth, with all that moves upon them, will praise Him." The freedom of creation and its blessings gain breadth in their mind and hearts. At every moment, new worlds are born, formed and exist. The worlds that were already created are elevated to a new form that is supernal, holy, precious, and beautiful. These worlds are renewed with every expression, with every word, as forms that are new and never still flow and rise like waves, like a heap of great breakers. None is tired, none stumbles; there is no toil or weariness-rather, comfort and joy. "I will rejoice in Hashem, I will have joy in the God of my salvation." But if these tzaddikim, these supernal holy ones, do not believe in themselves, if they do not pay attention to the voice of the shofar of supernal freedom that calls to them, then a profusion of waters will plummet upon them and endanger their lives. They will be submerged in the muddy depths until they recognize their greatness and beauty, their glow and holiness. Then, replacing the pressure driving them toward toil and depression which would desecrate the name of their GodBas these are replaced by strength and joy and they rise to freedom and delight. They know how to unite all the flames of their ardor, all their movements--and not only their own but also of those who join their circle. Those who come in contact with them and stand before them in their shared vision with complete unity, with the brilliant, living and precious light that sparks forth from the glow of the
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Almighty, Whose glory fills the world, Whose eminence and beauty rest upon all His pious ones. Orot Hakodesh I, pp. 168-69 Heeding the Vision We heed the call of the holy discourse that descends from the heights. We gather the impressions. Sparks like lightning are revealed from the heights of the soul, from its roots. Every revealed vision is a voice that calls from the heights: from the source of knowledge, from the treasury of life within the soul of the Life of all worlds. It is revealed to each individual corresponding to the purity of his ascent, the purification of his esssential being. To the degree that sins whifch divide us from our Maker, the Maker of allBare removed, so does the voice go forth from the source of supernal oneness with the greatest and truest revelation. Everything we create, whether physical or spiritual, must be properly prepared and purified. The holy yearning for the divine sublime (in its beautiful glory, clothed within the perfect robe of ethics that apply to all walks of life) must go forth, creating its own path. Then, the walls of division recede. Instead, a direct light, a direct voice arrive, imbued with the treasury of life and the wisdom of truth. The ear then hears and the eye sees. God has made them both. Orot Hakodesh I, p. 174 Breadth of Thought When your soul is creative, you must create ideas and thoughts. You cannot restrict yourself to superficial learning. The flame of your soul spontaneously rises. You cannot restrict its progress.
Breadth of thought is the unceasing demand that every creative person requires of himself. Superficial learning can restrict thought and muddle it at birth. Constant learning with superficial constancy increases the malady of narrow-mindedness. With all our strength, we must be redeemed from that. We must deliver our soul from the oppression of its straits. We must deliver it from Egypt, from the house of slavery. Orot Hakodesh I, p. 177 The Freedom of Inner Creativity Spiritual creation is free. It doesn't deal with any superficial influence. It creates in accordance with the journey of its spirit to the core. To the degree that its essential faith grows, so does it rise to the heights of truth. On the other hand, falsehood and the evil attached to it come only from a superficial influence. This influence affects spiritual creativity like a scab. It commands spiritual creativity to speak with the power of falseness, and not according to its own spirit. "He has chosen to follow the command" (Hosea 5:11)--the command (the sages say) of idolatry. Orot HakodeshI, p. 176 In the Seedbed of Imagination In the seedbed of imagination lie the beginnings of intellectual awareness--in a constricted form. This form shines more and more, constantly spreading and developing. At last, from the clouds of imagination comes forth a content that is wise and refined. Intellectual awareness spreads in truth over all existence: over nature and its ramifications, as well as the many components that surround nature from without.
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The same process applies to the seed of imagination, which spreads across all the length, width, depth, and height within existence. The heights of wisdom are at last revealed in a revelation that is consecrated in a manner appropriate to each of its levels. It is crowned in the kingdom of action, in the actions of being as they connect, with many and various bonds, to their cause. And in parallel, the same process occurs in imagination. From the height of levels, the content plunges into the steep depth. It proceeds from the beginning of prophecy and the divine, supernal illumination in the glory of holiness to the lowliness of charisma, with its gestures and illusions. It proceeds from the beginning of cerebral clarity, an emanation of exceedingly fine purity, to the most confused delusions of imagination. Through all of these proceeds one line, divided into its levels. Those who gaze from the crown of the tree penetrate all the depths. There is neither darkness nor shadow of death, for Sheol and Destruction are in the presence of God. And in the spirit of man, all is intertwined and connected. He must elevate all and beautify it, in order to bring the vessel forth to its Maker. Orot Hakodesh I, p. 229 The Light of Our Imagination All truth and greatness exist in the treasure-house of imagination. It gradually becomes successively refined, as it passes through a number of conduits of the intellect, which reduce and purify it.
We are summoned to appear in the light of our imagination, in the full splendor of its life-force, in the complete, precious, beautiful greatness of its holiness, on the world plane. There, all of humanity will gaze toward us and stream toward us. Our rational intellect is no more than a small student who partially explains all the light of life that rests within the treasure house of our rich, holy imagination--which lives on an exalted plane of life, which influences realistic existence with the solid essence of its being. Let us acknowledge the greatness of strength of life of our supernal imagination, which transcends all arid straits and limitations that are part of the conditions of an impoverished, dry existence. With the strength of imagination, suffused with the richness of life, we rise higher and higher. Imagination unites with supernal intellect--to which the name "intellect" is not really fitting, because it is so great and brilliant. Guard the hidden treasure, the nameless wisdom, the divine lightning flash, which blazes and sparkles from one end of the world to the other; the treasure in the ways of life that the mouth of God has spoken so that He may teach them to us on the paths of faith and education, higher than the heavens. These ways of life rise, ever higher and higher, and they descend in the strength of their selflessness to inherit the land, to guide the masses of the nation, to revive the dead, to support the humble, to beautify and glorify all those who walk in darkness. Return, come. Return and live. Be a nation. Be a holy people and a supernal nation, as you were meant to be from the very beginning. Find for yourself the depth of the greatness of who you are. Rise to your own great strength.
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Do not fear the criticism of man. Do not be upset by the dreams of the foolish. Raise the supernal banner over everything, the banner that shall be flourished by the nation chosen by God, the God of the world. Orot Hakodesh I, p. 223 The Qualities of Imagination In imagination, there exist qualities that do not exist in intellect. Imagination brings to life within us the world in its spiritual state. Automatically, it perfects our spiritual quality. (However, when it grows stronger, it adulterates the form of the world of action.) Cultural experiments have brought about a great deal of enrichment in the realm of the physical sciences, as well as the spiritual sciences that are based on the physical sciences. But at the same time, the world of imagination and all the greatness of life within it have degenerated steeply. And so, present-day humanity is puny in relation to early mankind, particularly in relation to those great people whose imagination grew and acquired those portions it needed from thisworldly intellect. Therefore, we justifiably still proclaim, even after the great development of the modern sciences: "If the first generations were like angels, we are like human beings. And if they were like human beings, we are like donkeys." Orot Hakodesh I, p. 225 The Distant Gaze Imagination sends the rays of its brilliance out to the
distance, to give image constantly to that which is external to the essence of the thinker; and the intellect circles the central point in the soul of life, and images the existence deep within it. And in accordance with this, imagination is necessary for the intellect that it may be helped by it for the distant gaze; and the intellect helps and supports the imagination to explain to it how great is the possession that is stored deep within it. Orot Hakodesh I, p. 238 The Union of Imagination and Intellect Even when intellect is not in agreement with the images of the imagination, they nevertheless stand alone in their own right, for imagination is a world to itself. However, [imagination] gains an additional blessing when it unites with intellect. Then they unite together in their supernal source, which is equally higher than both intellect and imagination. Lights, New and Alive Attaining understanding from your own consciousness is the highest point of spiritual elevation. That which you learn, you grasp from without, and it descends in its character. How different this is from the expression that rises from the midst of your soul! That which you learn is at best a profound idea teaching you to draw forth what is hidden in your heart, in the depths of your soul: the essence of what you can comprehend from your consciousness. Your consciousness streams forth constantly, creative and active. The supernal creative person does not create but only duplicates. He draws lights, new and alive, from a supernal source to where they have never been--from a place the eagle has not
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known, where no eye has gazed, no man has passed, none has dwelled. When such personal greatness is revealed, one's ear is faithful; one's heart hearkens and says nothing that it has not heard from its teachers, the true, righteous prophets, whose mouths are true with the word of God. Orot Hakodesh I, p. 178
VISUALIZATION
The Relationship Between All Souls The flash of light that unveils the relationship between all souls of all generations and the soul of an adept engaging in visualization is the beginning of a holy spirit. When you develop this holy ability with regular practice and connect it to wisdom and good deeds, you will rise level by level, and attain a number of realizations. "Open the gates of justice for me; I will enter them, I will thank God." Arpelei Torah, p. 108 The Liberated Gaze The more you perceive your spiritual state, The more will you realize that all of your images Can be limitless. Your ability to visualize Can be fully attained. So visualize, to whatever degree, Greatness and strength. Still, you will attain less Than a drop from the ocean Of what can be grown and ennobled. Your liberated gaze, Touched with the joy of refined imagination, Might satisfy you. That still won't approach The smallest degree Of the true state of Eden Within all of existence-All of which reveals supernal joy:
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That Eden of the Creator of all worlds. Orot Hakodesh I, p. 176 When the Light of Our Soul Bursts Forth We are not always fit for elevated spiritual experiences. Those many instances that lack any elevated illumination are to be dedicated to exoteric Torah learning and practical service of God. But when the light of our soul bursts forth, we must immediately give that light its freedom, so that we may unfold, visualize, imagine, grow wise and attain, aspire and yearn to the highest heights, to the source of our root, to the life of our soul, to the light of the life of the soul of all universes, to the light of the supernal God, to His goodness and beauty. Orot Hakodesh 10:2
INTENT
The Torch of Impeccable Intent Humanity must develop a great deal before it can realize the great appreciation that the idealism hidden in the depths of the soul has for intent and will. The soul is at all times adorned in a wealth of new colors. These colors display a small part of its treasure and beautiful greatness. All great, moral actions in this world--whether on a small or on a broad level--are more than small manifestations, tiny sparks of the great torch of impeccable intent. Intent is everything. The coming to life of intent is the coming to life of the world. There is prayer with intent, divine union with intent, mitzvah and obligation with intent, possibility and the breadth of life with intent. And there is the intent itself. It has an intellectual and moral shape, with its glory and grandeur, its charm and holiness, its unending elevation--its divine heights. There is the intent that stands out in letters, in names--in which each letter and vowel is a depth and abundance of seas and currents, great and broad channels of life, desire, idealism and wisdom, power and might, emanation and beauty. And there is the intent that adheres to the holy bodies of pure, ideal human beings. All the joy of their lives is straightness and goodness in action and in morals. This is an intent that is living and fresh. How much light does it shine into the world! And then the supernal realm of secrets arrives. It connects the intending soul with the wellsprings of the life of ideas, with the
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root of their root. Then an infinite light, the light of the living God, spills forth, gushing in every syllable and action. Intent is the birth of action. Within the supernal intent and the intent that is filled with Divine life are included every thought of peace and every thought of the war for justice and right, every victory of wisdom and of a good and pleasant order. Every rectification of the world is included within it. Orot Hakodesh I, pp. 124-25 Not in Shul by Simchah Raz Rav Kook spent the greater part of the Days of Awe reciting the basic prayers of sh'ma and the shmoneh esrei, standing in his place. As a child, Dr. Nachum Arieli once asked his father about Rav Kook's Days of Awe prayer. "My father was silent for a while. He measured me with his eyes, thought, and replied, 'We who prayed with the rav on the days of awe can testify that he was not with us in shul. We saw with our own eyes that he was not with us, but elsewhere.'" Dr. Arieli continued, "You may wonder what this means. Where was he? The answer is that his body alone was with the other bodies. But his soul flew to the hidden heights and his mind was removed from the things of this world, like a angel flying up, so that one can only hear the rustling of its wings. When Rav Kook's students gazed at him, they saw that he was not with them. If someone was worthy, he could (so to speak) take hold of Rav Kook's tallis and himself rise a handbreadth or two from the ground. "Why did Rav Kook's prayers take so long? He did not add any words to the prayers--only intent. Every year, at the beginning
of the month of Elul, he would set aside his other holy books and devote himself to mystic teachings and the meditative exercises of the Ari. For thirty days he prepared for Rosh Hashanah, and forty days for Yom Kippur. He strove to understand their prayers, until he was intimately familiar with the content of the Ari's meditations. Then, when the days of awe arrived, he prayed with those meditations. "And my father would conclude by telling me, in awe and love, 'When a person prays in such a manner on the days of awe, only his body is here in the world of bodies. But his soul is flying in the world of souls.'" Malachim Kivnei Adam, 251-52
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INTELLIGENCE
Natural Intelligence Every learning, every spiritual elevation, must be built on the foundation of natural feeling and natural intelligence. And natural intelligence itself with all natural feelings in a good measure of their stance--must be in their beginning planted on the foundation of the holy of holies, which carries within itself the load of the holy and the load of the secular, the material and the form, in a form that is uplifted and ideal, in an elevated unity. Orot Hakodesh, p. 64 The Stifling of Intelligence The subjugation and stifling of intelligence---whatever the cause--represents the destruction of the world. In fact, the holier the cause, the more damaging that subjugation is. It is like a false prophecy in the name of God. Such a prophecy conveys evil and uncleanness, idolatry and abomination--like a corpse. And so, when any attempt is made to silence the mind-whether in the name of faith, piety, Torah learning or carrying out the commandments--it is a terrible lie, a toxic contamination. At that point, people who are the holy ones of the Supernal Being, those who fear God in purity, must step forward to save the world, the people of Israel, the Torah, faith, and everything that is holy to God. They must save them from the hands of the destroyers, whoever they may be. These destroyers may be liars whose only wish is to delude others, who wrap themselves in the prophet's cloak in order to deceive (Zechariah 13:4). Or they may be men who are weak of spirit and small in consciousness--who, because of the reduction of the light of
wisdom in them; who, because of their habitual dimness and coarsened vision, trample (with celerity and energy) the active, this-worldly material. They are rooted in the fabulistic images of a faith that comes from their own superficial misunderstanding. That misunderstanding brings poverty of spirit and lack of life to the world. These people possess compassion and weakness, pride and opaqueness--and an inner cruelty. That inner cruelty stems from ego, foolishness and confused opinions regarding basic tenets of faith, upon which all faith is founded. They drive themselves to rule the world with a short temper, with hatred and despair, with weakness in their hands and contention. Their influence puts the mind to sleep, extinguishes the light of Torah, and sets at a distance the world and a happy life, purity of character traits and the purification of thought. As a result, souls stumble and fall. People live animalistic, mean lives without knowledge and understanding, without recognizing the honor due to human beings--which is the basic foundation to recognizing the honor due to heaven. This is an honor that fills the world, that enlivens worlds, that supports the spirit and soul. Orot Ha'emunah, pp. 67-68
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FEELING
The Heart of the Wise Man Knows Feeling is swifter than intellect. In feeling, the word "God" is filled with fecundity and reality even before the smallest fraction of all the multitude of enigmas concealed with it is deciphered. But this is not the case with intellect. Intellect requires toil. Without study and inquiry, one will find nothing. If feeling is exchanged for intellect, if one will desire to engage one's intellect without spiritual labor, in order to enjoy the benefit of what is already prepared--as it is possible to do in feeling--one's world will swiftly grow dark. Tangled thorns will flourish in one's spiritual portion, one will constantly be entangled, and one's spiritual path will be filled with stumbling blocks. "There is a time and judgement that the heart of the wise man knows." And that is: to enter the palace of feeling in its fullness, to take pleasure in its sweet things, and to allow the portion of the intellect to engage in its toil. Then the knowledge of God will enter one's heart in its most desirable form. Orot Hakodesh I, p. 251
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KINDNESS
Be Good to All When you experience a strong desire to be good to all, realize that an illumination from the supernal world has come to you. How fortunate you will be if you prepare a proper place in your heart, in your mind, in the acts of your hands and in all your feelings to receive this exalted guest, which is greater and more exalted than the most noble of this earth. Take hold of it and do not let go. Do not allow any delays and obstacles--whether physical or spiritual--that hinder you from taking this holy inspiration into yourself to stop you. Fight for everything. Rise in your strength. Lift your consciousness to the far reaches and imitate the qualities of God, Who is good to all and Whose compassion encompasses all His creatures. Orot Hakodesh III, p. 316 Kindness Rav Kook's father told the following story: Once, when Avraham Yitzchak was not yet six years old, he was late returning from cheder, and we began to worry. As it grew later, my wife got very upset, and she asked me to go look for him. I left the house and asked a few of his friends if they had seen him. One of them told me that he had seen him go with an old man in the direction of the old part of town (Griva). I set out in that direction, my heart filled with worry. But before I had gone far, I saw him from a distance, running--which wasn't his usual custom-in the direction of our house. I hurried to meet him, and when he reached me and realized that I had gone to look for him, he hugged me and asked me to forgive him for having been late coming home. He explained that when he had left the cheder, an old Jew
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had come up to him and asked him where the house of a man who was known for his charity was. He knew that the old man was a stranger to the city, and that even if he told him where the house was and how to get there, the man still wouldn't easily find it, because one had to pass through various streets and alleys. And this was an old man with a cane. And so he decided to fulfill the mitzvah of gemilat chasadim--doing kindness and to bring the man to the house himself. When he finished telling the story, he asked innocently, "Father, did I not do well? I am sorry if I upset you and mother, but I swear before heaven and earth that I only had the mitzvah in mind. And the man also blessed me that I should become great in Torah." (R. Chaim Karlinski, Shanah B'shanah, 5746, p. 362), Likutei Rayah, pp. 423-24 A Story of Generosity by Baruch Dovdavni Rav Kook's student, Baruch Dovdavni, related the following story. In the last weeks of Rav Kook's life, Rav Kook was lying on his sick-bed, contorted in his terrible pains. The cancer that eventually took his life had already harmed him considerably. In the midst of that, a woman entered his room. She told Rav Kook that her daughter had gone suddenly insane and that the physicians said that the girl could not be adequately treated unless she were taken immediately to Vienna. With a great deal of effort, the woman had managed to obtain a passport. But the Italian consul was withholding the visa until the formal arrangements, which would take another few days, would be carried out. Rav Kook immediately wrote a letter to the consul on this woman's behalf, but it did not help. And so, despite the pleading of his doctors and the
outcries of his family, Rav Kook himself went to the Italian consulate, his bandages wrapped about his midsection and suffering great pains. When the consul saw him, he was shocked. He knew that Rav Kook was terribly ill. The newspapers were printing bulletins regarding on his grave medical condition. Yet now Rav Kook himself was standing here before him. As can be imagined, the consul agreed immediately to Rav Kook's request and presented the visa on the spot. Malachim Kivnei Adam, p. 261 The Toddler by Rabbi Sh. B. Shulman There was a certain man who suffered many difficulties and who had a small daughter. He brought the little girl to Rav Kook's room, tied her to his chair, and disappeared. At that time, Rav Kook had one granddaughter, Tziporah, whom he dearly loved. Now, when Rav Kook saw this girl, he told his family: "It is our responsibility to treat this girl like our own Tziporele, without any difference whatsoever, heaven forbid." And he did exactly as he said. The girl stayed in Rav Kook's house, exploring and getting into everything, as toddlers do. Nights were particularly hard, because the girl would cry and wail, and Rebbetzin Kook couldn't get to sleep. The rebbetzin complained that she was weary and no longer had the strength to take care of the child. Rav Kook replied, "You are certainly right, and it is only fair that we hire a nurse. But since we don't have the means to do so, I am ready to help you at night. I will hold the girl on my lap and try to put her to sleep with the tune of my Gemara learning." Malachim Kivnei Adam, p. 302
ETHICS
Torah and Good Deeds
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Torah and good deeds Purify your character. But you cannot rely on this alone. You must work on your character. In particular, You must perfect your ethical being. Orot Hakodesh III, p. 233 From the Depths of Chaos The call to purify your character never ceases. You may have already purified it when you were on an intermediate spiritual level. But when you grow, you bring hidden treasures of life out of the depths of chaos. These portions come to you as a spiritual revelation. Because they have never been refined, they require constantly new purifying. There are holy people who never cease growing. They go from strength to strength, always engaged in actualized repentance. Purifying and refining character is a vital ingredient of that repentance. Orot Hakodesh III, p. 233 When You Want to Improve Someone Take a second look when you want to improve someone and remove him from his habitual path. Perhaps that path is actually good. Although it has its failings, they may be protecting that person from even greater failings. May God guide us to be fair. Sometimes our inner drive entices us to enter a mode of improving everyone. This is actually a negative impulse.
We can be compassionate. And when we are, God, Who is compassionate, will remove all flaws. Midot Harayah, p. 92 The Aesthetic Sense The general time of spiritual favor in the world and a spiritual time of favor in the individual are inter-dependent in a number of ways. Every pleasing harmony of life--every preparation that strengthens our aesthetic sense--prepares paths for the appearance of supernal lights from the supernal spiritual treasure house, which streams without cease and seeks to spread and thus fulfill its function in whatever place it finds prepared for it. More than all this, good character traits prepare a place for supernal holiness; more than they, this-worldly mitzvot; more than they, the Torah; and more than all of them, the inner quality within the Torah. There are also supernal unifications [of meditation] in their purity that come after one has completed all the previous preparations of action and of spirit, together with all the acquisitions of temperament coming from a healthy body and soul that are related to [these unifications]. These unifications are the highest of all. They are a wondrous preparation for the revelation of spiritual light in the wealth of its flow, giving life to the spirit of every individual and giving a soul to the entire nation. Arpelei Torah, p. 9 Natural Ethics AEthical behavior must precede the Torah.@ Such a period of time is necessary, in [all] generations. An ingrained ethics in all the depth of its majesty and its mighty strength must be established in our spirit and become a receptacle
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for the great influences that come from the power of the Torah. Just as awe is the level of the root [force] that precedes wisdom, so are natural ethics the level of the root [force] that precedes awe and all its ramifications. This principle holds for the individual, and entirety of the [Jewish] people and all humanity. If there is a need, upon occasion, to bring to bear the influence of Torah without first connecting to the root of natural ethics in its purity, that is the path of a temporary decree. But life must bring matters about so that the process will return to its mighty order: the preceding of natural ethics in all its fullness, in order to build upon its base the first stage of the Torah and supernal awe. Orot Hatorah 12:2
CHARACTER TRAITS
Tolerance When tolerance of points of view comes from a heart that is pure and cleansed of all evil, that tolerance is not liable to chill the flame of holy feelings containing simple faith--which is the source of all life. Instead, that tolerance broadens and magnifies the foundation of heaven-directed fervor. Tolerance is armed with a very great faith. Ultimately, it realizes the complete impossibility of a soul being emptied of all holy life. This is because the life of the living God fills all life. And so, even where actions come out in a destructive fashion, where points of view collide into heresy, there still must be--in the midst of the heart, in the depth of the soul--the living light of hidden holiness. And this is apparent in the good aspects that we find in many corners, even on those ravaged avenues touched by heresy and corroded by doubts. From the midst of this great, holy knowledge and faith comes tolerance, which encircles everything with a thread of kindness. "I will gather up all of you, Yaacov" (Michah 2). Midot Harayah, p. 84 Modesty The trait of modesty brings about many important aspects of goodness in the world. Because it is so worthwhile, it sets aside other things, even though they are intrinsically good. A person's drive and weak self-control could destroy the trait of modesty, which maintains the world, both spiritual and physical.
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Love and friendship, with all their pleasant characteristics and words, should really have been equal between man and woman. But the great worth of modesty takes precedence. And so politeness is set aside--even to the point that a man should not inquire of another how his wife is doing (Kiddushin 70a). A modest person realizes that it is not disparagement of women that leads to this distance and these boundaries. It is rather the focus on the ultimate, worthy goal. We see something similar in our exposure to ideas. We maintain a fitting distance, with an almost instinctual sense, from ideas that would damage our sense of ethics. It might at times appear that we are rejecting freedom of thought. But when we are aware of our goal, we will recognize the great worth of our selflimitation and accept it lovingly. Midot Harayah, p. 90 Praise by Simcha Raz Rav Kook used to carefully and repeatedly read the honorific titles given him in the letters he received. Once, a Jerusalem scholar asked him about this. Rav Kook explained: "I have a special reason: it is so that I will learn what I have and what I lack. And it is also so that I will know how to strive and improve myself, until I truly possess those traits for which I am being praised." Malachim Kivnei Adam, p. 292
FAITH
Faith Not with depression, not with fearfulness, not with sentimental weakness must we turn to the divine light, but with a clear knowledge that what flows from the depths of our heart to approach God is a natural, complete and healthy faculty. It is more than just a natural faculty--it is the basic, natural faculty of our soul. It emerges in us from the soul of the Life of all worlds, from the soul of all existence, of all being. The more we increase knowledge, increasing spiritual illumination and a healthy physicality, so will this wondrous light shine in us, a lamp on the path of our life. Orot Ha'emunah, p. 80 The Poem of Life Generally speaking, faith is the poem of life, the poem of existence, the poem of being. The poetic spirit is the most deeply penetrating feeling. Within our inner being, it delves most profoundly into the nature of what we aspire to, in a manner that prose cannot achieve. The true lens of life, therefore, is within the poem of life-but not in merely temporal life, whose expression is prose. Woe to the person who wishes to deprive life of the glory of its poetry. Such a person destroys the entire content of life and all the truth within it. Prose has worth only because it rests upon the poetry of life. Orot Ha'emunah, p. 40 Golden Illuminations In every song in the world, the holiness of faith expresses
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its golden illuminations. When holiness is revealed in the spirit of song in its pure and complete form, that song is truly holy. It is a song that even the holy angels, the angels of God, will sing. Orot Ha'emunah, p. 40 Loving all People A person upon whom the light of faith is revealed in its purity loves all people, with no exceptions whatsoever. His only desire is their elevation and repair. The avenues of their repair become genuinely moral and true in accordance with the expression of faith in his heart. Orot Ha'emunah, p. 44
The Light of Song Faith is the song of the upper world. Its source is the divine nature within the depth of the soul, the pleasure of the inner gaze that comes from an infinite gladness. The finite expression of Torah is built upon the outcome of this holy, supernal song in its actualized limitation. Those who are filled with the splendor of song suffer at times because of the limited aspect of actual life and its boundaries. Nevertheless, they accept the yoke of the kingdom of heaven. They know that the world rests on measurement, that the light of song must be clarified in finite utensils. They accept this with love, and draw the light of love and song into measure and rule. By means of this patience, they rise; and the world rises with them. Orot Ha'emunah, p. 88
The Denial and Acknowledgment of Faith There is such a thing as denial of faith that is like acknowledgment of faith. And there is also such a thing as acknowledgment of faith that is like denial. A person may acknowledge that the Torah is from heaven. But his picture of heaven is so distorted that it contains not even a trace of true faith. On the other hand, a person may deny that the Torah is from heaven. But his denial is based only on what he has learned from believers whose minds are filled with empty and confused thoughts. As a result, he decides that the Torah must have a higher source than that. And so he seeks its source in the greatness of the spirit of humanity, in the depth of ethics and in the Torah's spirit of wisdom. Although this has not yet brought him to the heart of truth, such a denial is considered acknowledgment. And it steadily comes ever closer to faith. A confused generation of such people must certainly improve. This question as to whether or not the Torah is from heaven is merely one example that illustrates all questions of faith, general and particular: the relationship between how they are perceived and their core being, the latter being the goal of faith. Orot Ha'emunah, p. 25 Too Great a Measure of Faith In too great a measure, faith destroys the world. This is true not only of false faith. It refers even to true faith, when that faith affects the individual and communal soul more than necessary to bring about a proper balance with other energies, spiritual and this-worldly. At that point, faith weakens the world. That is why the world always contains so many factors that
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diminish faith--despite the fact that the tendency toward faith is so strong. The situation then remains in balance. The world receives the good within faith in proper measure. This process pertains not only toward faith but also toward wisdom, ethics and every ability. Just as every positive phenomenon has factors that support it, so does it have a unique set of influences that disturb it. When each case is looked at in isolation, we would think that those factors that support the good help the world, and those that disturb it harm the world. But when looked at in a total context, we see that both of them build the world--the first positively and the second negatively. Usually, the final generation of an era utilizes negative energy. This is because an era comes to an end when the finest aspect of its spiritual strength has worn out its ability to influence. Before, it had influenced so much that it had gone beyond its measure. The preponderance of goodness that it had brought had made the world unable to accept it. Now the world attempts to shatter it. And so the generation that ends one era and begins the next uses negative energy. But as soon as that negativity is revealed, its purpose of finalizing matters--of "smoothing the bushel"--is completed. At that point, the weakness and emptiness within the negativity are exposed. That negativity sets its own limits, which keep it from excessively spreading. The undue expansion of its first appearance now is rectified in the over-all balance. Nowadays, we see a movement toward denial of faith, as part of a characteristic arrogance of the times. For instance, there is biblical criticism, with its pretense toward scientific authority. On the other hand, there is a revelation of new information that supports faith. These two constitute the divine symmetry of the balanced spirit of faith.
Orot Ha'emunah, p. 24
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PRAYER
A Perfect Prayer People may abandon prayer because they envision a perfect prayer, a brightly radiant prayer. Even though this abandonment is a great loss, when that bright prayer does arrive, it restores the entire loss. This is so in regard to an individual or the community: the entire congregation of Israel. Prayer will come to the people of Israel. It will come in a very bright form, a form that flows from the midst of the entirety of its soul, from the midst of its inner awareness, from the midst of its view of the world, and from the midst of all its influence upon the world in the past, present and future. When that prayer of the people of Israel comes, the entire world will be astonished at its glory and splendor, its strength and grace. It will come from the midst of that perfect will that makes the entire world one bloc of holiness, that turns all of life into one chapter of supernal song, a new song, a song of Hashem upon the land of Israel, a song of Zion redeemed and filled with eternal redemption. Involving ourselves in Perek Shirah--the song of all creation--is the foundation of the service of wisdom, a service filled with eternal life, flowing directly from an immediate union between the human and all existence. This is the precursor to the standard service of God, which comes to humanity by means of the Torah. Orot Hakodesh III, p. 227
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SPIRITUAL THIRST
The Light of Our Soul Breaks Forth We are not always prepared for spiritual, elevated experiences. The many times that we lack supernal illumination are well-fitted for a dedication to the revealed, exoteric teachings of the Torah and this-worldly service. But since the light of our soul breaks forth immediately, we must give that light its freedom so that it will spread forth. We must envision, imagine, grow wise and attain, strive and yearn for the highest heights, for the source of our root, for the life of our soul, for the light of the Life of the Soul of all worlds, for the light of the supernal God, for His goodness and majesty. Orot Hatorah 10:2 A Great Thirst In special moments of divine illumination, we feel a great thirst: a thirst for holiness in general and for the Torah and its commandments in particular. That allows us to attain in the correct degree the ability to be constantly involved--with great love and constant diligence--in Torah and its commandments, in perfecting our character and in elevating our thought. Together, these make it possible for us to cling to the Divine. Then all the pleasures of that closeness to God are broadened for us. There Is Nothing Old In the fullness of our soul, we sense the necessity of absolute goodness, the impossibility of its not existing, and the unceasing longing in the depths of our heart to rise to it, to approach its heights, to gaze upon its pleasantness.
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We feel that the fulfillment of this absolute goodness in the completeness of its being--free of every boundary, of every condition and ordinance, of every definition and alteration--is a universal fulfillment. The only way to fulfill our hopes for such goodness is to gaze--to the extent possible--upon the sparks of its radiance. Then strength and life, eternity and splendor shall descend to us and fill us. After all this vision, we still remain thirsty for goodness to ascend. We still do not embrace the full circumference of goodness in its wholeness. We shall do so only when we shall see, besides the fulfillment of goodness, an ascent of goodness: a constant blossoming, an increase of strength, an ascent without limitations, without standstill. The fulfillment of our ideal-oriented thirst will show us how to distinguish between the divine light and the worldly light, which draws life from its source. The divine light satiates our exalted thirst for absolute goodness in its heights. The worldly light, which grows ever brighter and which constantly rises, drawing from the life of its source, will satisfy us with the goodness of ascent, of increase of might, of additional rising--for which we so deeply thirst and yearn. We will not be compelled to slake our thirst for knowledge and goodness--when they are united, making understood all existence, making knowable the secret of its ethical grandeur--with a dry conclusion that existence and decay are the final endpoint; a conclusion that leaves us mortified and shaken, filled with desperation about an on-going, unfolding process that depresses our spirit with the groan that "there is nothing new under the sun." We rise above everything to the simple vision that our senses could grasp from existence only superficially. We step forward spiritually, striding higher than the sun. Then we
pronounce that there is nothing old: everything blossoms, everything rises, everything constantly increases light and life. Nor does the magnificent spirit fall when it sees that the path of ascent is circuitous, incorporating ascents and descents, advances and very great retreats--for the descents and retreats are filled with the spirit of ascent and advance. The comprehension of this progress--as it approaches completion, becoming well-integrated in a knowledgeable, ethical life, as it is blessed and emerges from unripeness so that it is not eaten green--lifts the human spirit to the heights of divine light. It makes us assimilate within ourselves the inner goal of the knowledge of God--free of every ordinance and boundary--that exists within the treasure-house of the soul of Israel, that is revealed through the divine manifestation unique to Israel as the highest blossoming of the stream of light of the human soul in the midst of all the nations. This constant progress fills us with an idealistic, ethical outlook on all of existence. It brings us to the fullness of a divine, knowing and comprehending light that unites our existence with the light of the Life of worlds, with the ultimate purity and ethics, strength and power in all their fullness. The honor of God, wrapped in the breadth of creation in all its rich and varied hues, becomes known to us in its ideal radiance, growing constantly. "May His great name be magnified and sanctified." Orot Hakodesh II, pp. 466-67
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JOY
A Bedrock of Joy We sometimes have to step away from thoughts of holiness and repentance, if those thoughts cause us to be depressed. There is a bedrock of joy connected to the depth of holiness, which far outranks any other holiness and repentance. Therefore, if awe of God and repentance are depressing us, we must set aside those thoughts until our mind grows stronger. We should be opening ourselves to holiness and the fear of heaven with a joy and gladness that are appropriate for good-hearted people whose service of God is genuine. Orot Hateshuvah 14:11 The Holy Mixture of Pleasure and Joy When humility and awe are revealed, they bring forth pleasantness and joy. Refined pleasure comes from the foundation of humility, and pure joy from the foundation of awe. And the revelation of the countenances of these illuminated visions results from the influence of their lights upon each other: "I call to them to stand together." From the holy mixture of these branches comes a supernal might, extremely powerful, which motivates all aspects of life with a holy grandeur. Orot Hakodesh III, p. 187
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LOVE OF GOD
Four Types of Love The love of all beings precedes everything else. Afterwards comes the love of all humanity. After that comes the love of the people of Israel, who encompass everything, for it is the people of Israel who will one day rectify all creation. All these types of love express themselves in activity: loving others to do good for them and to improve them. But higher than all these is the love of God. This is love complete in itself, which does not in itself cause an effect--except that it fills the heart with the most exalted contentment. Musar Avicha, Ahavah II Clinging to God by Simchah Raz Five days before Rav Kook passed away, Rabbi Shabtai Burnstein met Rabbi Yaacov Moshe Charlop on Yaffo Street in Jerusalem. Rabbi Shabtai asked about Rav Kook=s health. Rabbi Charlop replied, AWhat can I say to you, Reb Shabtai? I am now coming from visiting Rav Kook. I found him in great pain. I asked him how he is feeling, and he said to me, >I have nothing to say about the pain itself, but what is difficult for me to bear is that it causes me at times to cease clinging to God.=@ Malachim Kivnei Adam Do You Feel the Same Way? by Simcha Raz Rabbi Yaacov Moshe Charlop, a rosh yeshiva and faithful student of Rav Kook, told the following: One winter evening, the cold froze the blood in the veins.
Everything was frozen. Ice glazed the windowpanes. It was dark, and clouds covered everything with gray. I went to Rav Kook=s house under a dark sky. Everyone was asleep except for Rav Kook. He was walking back and forth in his little room enthusiastically, and for a long while he did not look at me. Afterwards, Rav Kook came to me and gave me his hand. It was like a piece of ice. But with a fiery warmth, with his eyes sparkling and shining and his face aflame, he asked me, ATell me, is it the same for you?@ AWhat?@ I asked. AI am entirely burning up with love for God. Do you feel the same way?@ Malachim Kivnei Adam, p. 72
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FEAR OF GOD
Skating The fear of God is the deepest wisdom, based upon the most profound view of the world. [The fear of God] provides a deep foundation to every field of knowledge and every teaching, whether holy or secular. The secular itself must, when it seeks the fundamental depth, come to this conclusion: as long as the fear of God does not provide the basis of the field of knowledge, it is merely skating upon the outer surface of concepts--which are in truth not wisdom at all. Musar Avichah, Yirah I The Essence of Not Knowing Within the depth of our soul, we can envision the source of the awe of God, because of the wondrous blend of two opposites pertaining to divine providence: a lack of complete knowledge regarding the character of the Divine, and an assured knowledge of that perfect Being. The wondrous mixture of these two magnificent opposites is exceedingly awesome. [This mixture is exemplified by Yaacov Avinu.] Yaacov said of [the site of the future Temple], "How awesome is this place." Thus, he is known as the awesome one (Baal Haturim, Devorim 7:21). Yaacov is [also] known as "a simple man who dwells in tents." Which tents? The tents of Avraham and Yitzchak, which combine in the [tent of Yaacov, who is also known as] "the beauty of Israel." And "the beauty of wisdom is awe" (Deretz Eretz Zuta). It is necessary that there be a lack of knowledge. Due to the obscurity within human awareness, our knowledge obscures the known even as it clarifies it. This also applies to any domain of
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knowledge dealing with all of limited, created existence. The essence of life is the relationship of the Divine with existence. This [relationship] is enclosed within a hidden knowledge that can only be comprehended by the most hidden will of the heart. By no means can definite knowledge give it form. The definition itself would obscure it--and that would dissolve the knot of being. It is impossible for us to grasp the Divine Being, so that we not be nullified. The purpose of knowledge is to draw down life, a state of being that is not separated by any curtain or interposition from the source of the Life of lives and the Being of being. Yet that is something that we cannot know. In other words: the inability to know is not an idea. Rather, it is the essence of not knowing. In its supernal darkness, the essence of true knowledge rests without even the touch of a limited hand, which would diminish its image. "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth? says the Lord" (Jer. 23:24). Musar Avichah, Yirah 2
The Light of Life Exacting care in our actions inspired by the lower wellspring--the fear of punishment--may contain small-mindedness and judgements. Ultimately, this will rise. Ultimately, all its strictness will become a flame of holy might: with love and a fire that blazes with the pleasantness of divine friendship; with love of humanity; with grace and good wisdom.
Ultimately, this exacting attitude will arrive at the supernal wellspring of the light of life. There, the illumination of holy pleasures shines the might of its radiance upon life. "God, how precious Your kindness is! In the shadow of Your wing, People find sanctuary. They are gratified by the wealth of Your home. You give them to drink from Your river of delight. The wellspring of life is with You. And so, in Your light, we will see light. Extend Your kindness to those who know You, And Your justice to those who are honest" (Psalms 36:8-10). Orot Hakodesh IV, p. 419 The Fear of God In every clash, whether physical or spiritual, we experience light and its vessel: the soul and body. In accordance with the clarity of our understanding and the purity of our will, so does light shine upon us from the vessel. Our soul shines from our body. When our thoughts tumble over one another, there is one universal treasury: the fear of God, the fear of punishment and an ordinary trepidation. This constitutes the floor of that tabernacle of faith that stretches out to rectify the world. Then, in accordance with the clarity of our understanding and the holiness of our acts and our spirit, our soul is revealed. Our soul had been steeped in the midst of that corporeal and crude fear. Now our soul is revealed: our soul, which is the crown of
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all spiritual ideals, of the glory of honor and of the awe of God's greatness. It is the stronghold of love. It is the source of the streams of all idealistic yearnings, mighty in their desire, which rise higher and higher to the most elevated worlds. Orot Hakodesh IV, p. 420
SEXUALITY
The Plague Will Not Enter Your Tent You can profoundly rectify your mis-spent sexuality by sanctifying your will and illuminating it clearly, until the light of holiness will stream through even your strongest physical drive. That drive is rooted in holiness that is incredibly strong, because it contains the expression of life: the sexual drive. The light of holiness will stream within it to such a degree that its holy aspect will rule your life and direct its action and expression. Then sexuality's secular aspect, and certainly its unclean aspect, will be totally nullified before its holy aspect. Then, in truth, the plague will not enter your tent; you shall be righteous and guarded from stumbling. Orot Hakodesh III, p. 298 Holiness in Action and Holiness in Thought Holiness in action and holiness in thought anchor the holiness of nature and will in its very foundation. The sexual act is sanctified in the strength of a pure and holy nature. This was the human experience before the sin. This all-encompassing holiness and, even higher than that, the longing for this holiness refine your entire connection to your soul. Familial relations are bound with the threads of the holy of holies, so strong and powerful, bringing a flow of long life to your descendants. From this saintly basis flow life and refinement, power and strength, the greatness of life. All of your life is filled with strength: for those who are with you, for the generation, for the entire world. Strength adds to strength, life draws forth life. Honor and beauty cause beauty and the glory of holiness to shine upon all. Orot Hakodesh III, p. 299
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The Sexual Drive Streams Into the Future The sexual drive streams into the future, to the perfection of life that time will bring: the life of the world-to-come within this world. That future life is filled with complete beauty and pleasure; thus, great is the yearning and the strength of desire of the sexual drive, which is all-encompassing; only upon this drive does ultimate holiness rest its light. The pure soul leads the sexual drive to its goal within the boundary of Torah, wisdom, rectitude and modesty: the sources of righteousness. "Whoever guards the covenant is called righteous." The basis of the holiness of Israel is tied to the world of the future. A holy spirit continuously embraces the entirety of the nation and its individuals. "Your people are all righteous." Orot Hakodesh III, p. 296 The Precious Reason for Circumcision The precious reason for circumcision, which decreases sexual desire, encompasses broad principles of wisdom. The covenant--"to be a God to you and to your children after you"-offers knowledge of God's oneness, which is connected to circumcision. The covenant and circumcision are intimately intertwined. "From his flesh does a man see God." If you have the power to harness all the abilities of your soul and all your drives to an enlightened and ethical goal, you will see unity in your internal world. The unity of the outer world will become increasingly clear to you. But if your abilities are splintered, if you cannot conceive of overall control of your drives and desires, you will conclude that the entire world, like you, is splintered, and that no unity can be found in existence. Sexual desire in its essence--and in related expressions, physical, imaginative and spiritual--comprises the basis of all drives. If you experience sexuality in a way that your exalted spirit can rise to it and surround it, can unify it with all the wealth of
human abilities (physical and spiritual), leading it to one integrated ethical and supernal goal, then that unity, in its power, is revealed. the revelation of Godly unity will appear in your flesh. The total immersion of the human spirit in sexual desire to such a degree that the ideals and ethics in its realm are silenced has brought about the substance of the foreskin. This pathological state expresses itself physically as a powerful sexual drive that has left the realm of ideals and the transmission of the ultimate ethics. Pessimism corresponds to ethical decline. It gives urgency to the divorce of sexual desire from idealism: since existence in general is such a great evil, how can the procreation of miserable creatures be ideal? This doctrine teaches that the sexual drive is not rooted in idealism, but merely demonstrates the eruption of desire. How different is the outlook of general goodness, of optimism: "God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good." This view permits idealism to extend even over the sexual drive. The nature of flesh and the inclination of one's heart can descend to the degraded state of the foreskin. But with circumcision, you rectify the holy covenant and stride on an exalted path. All your abilities are directed toward a goal that is all-inclusive, ideal and holy. From your flesh will you see God. You will sanctify the Holy One of Israel, the one God. Orot Hakodesh III, p. 300 Whatever is Positive and Ideal What is the basic nature of the [sexual] covenant, of how that covenant is made--in the ethical sense? Whatever is positive and ideal, whatever wells from the essence of the most elevated and exalted morality: that must be planted in us, deeply and strongly. It must exist within the entire nature of our heart and soul, to such a degree that it does not require encouragement, strengthening or protective boundaries. It
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must be palpable and permanent. We must experience it as strongly as a decent individual experiences a repugnance to the possibility of murder or any other evil, negative activity that the power of general ethics has already addressed successfully. When we reach that state, we will be happy in its exalted being. We will rejoice in the name of God and always trust His kindness. But when the [sexual] covenant is flawed, the natural power within ethics is weakened. In consequence, the flaw brings about trembling and weakness in the depth of our soul. That inner trembling results from a tendency to turn from the path of good. At that time, we need constant guarding and encouragement: intelligent and in-depth. With an arousal of supernal repentance motivated by love of God, this flaw is transformed into goodness. Instead of engaging in a variety of activities with the energy of nature, which lacks intelligence, now we act with the force of intelligence (see Orot Hateshuvah, Chapter One). Then we also experience, with goodness and joy, some of that pleasurable feeling that naturally comes from the path of goodness and the service of God in general. At the same time, we experience fears and states of bitterness. These come about because we are now strengthening ourselves to walk upon the right path. Actually, if the trait of the covenant were not weak in ourselves, we would already be doing everything with confidence and a joyous heart. [When we experience all these feelings,] we become accustomed in our depths to do good for the sake of the essence of what is truly good: the desire of God (see Musar Avichah 2, 4.) In particular, it is typical that tranquility will then characterize our every mitzvah, our every path of service and every good trait. It might be that from the emotional aspect within ourselves, we do not recognize that tranquility entirely in its full glory, in a manner that will cause our soul to draw us to it. It might be that
from our individual aspect, we do not feel our ethical elevation, which results from good deeds, this discipline, and the like. However, in the framework of the totality, in the context of the Congregation of Israel, it is certain that every spiritual and moral improvement, every aspect of approaching God, will bring positive influence. In general, the balance of spirituality is without a doubt lacking in the world. We are massively immersed in physicality. At times, in our individual lives, we may have turned appropriately to spirituality, which perhaps has subdued our physicality. [Still, because spirituality is so much outweighed in the world,] we do not experience, as would have been appropriate, that sweet feeling that holiness places upon the heart of those who go in its ways. But when the balance of our spirituality is joined to the treasury of the entirety [(the Congregation of Israel)], we will find that the place of aridity [within us] has been watered with the emanation of holiness. It will soak us with its influence. Then we will pluck its true fruit. It will be fit for us to rejoice with it. "There are people who act out of love and rejoice in sufferings. Of them the verse states, 'Those who love Him are like the coming forth of the sun in its strength' (Shoftim 5:31)" (Shabbos 88b). Midot Harayah, p. 66
When Your Will Rises When your will rises to that supernal level of holiness, it is cleared of all bad traits and all bad actions that exist in the world-even of the most inconsequential matters that most people ignore. One might desire illicit relations more than life itself,
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because sexual relations are embedded in one's drive to give life to all generations. But through sexual holiness, you can rise to the level and archetype of the righteous man of all generations. Similarly, one might experience the desire to steal: for what one possesses can support generations to come as an inheritance. the love of evil acquisition exceedingly degrades one's care for future generations. But the goodness within holiness can rise to the heights of life and elevate it. Orot Hakodesh III, p. 298 The Power of Basic Goodness A flaw in our sexual being--when it is actually degraded in relationship to the most elevated morality and wisdom, the lifeforce of the world, the life of future days--causes us to experience inner darkness. We remain unable to truly recognize the worth of anything valuable or to truly connect with anything ultimate and moral. (These abilities are branches of that basic morality that leads to the life-force of the world of the greatest future.) When such a flaw exists, all concepts of morality remain weak within ourselves, and require great support. The slightest imposition prevents us from progressing to wholeness. But after we strengthen ourselves in repentance inspired by the love of God, with profound study of Aggadah, we recognize "He Who spoke and brought the world into being." Then the power of basic goodness shines upon us. And then we rise. At first, we rise because of the very essence of faith--even though we do not yet clearly perceive an inner conception. Afterwards, the inner light grows whole within us. At that point, the very fact of our having been distanced becomes the means of our coming close. Because the normative light of justice [?] has not yet acted upon us to revive us, we find within ourselves a mighty thirst to raise our conceptions to a greater height. As a result, our sins are transformed into merits (cf.
Yoma 88a). Midot Harayah, p. 67 The Perfection of Life That Time Will Bring Thought is the eternal revelation of each human being. It is disclosed in speech. Thought pours forth, flowing directly from the eternal aspect of sexuality into the procreative faculty colored by the context of one's life. In accordance with how your elevated thought, in its purity, shines upon your power of speech, the essential strength of life in your sexuality will be elevated and enveloped in supernal holiness. The inner light of life in all its strength will shine through your power of speech: "You shall command and it will come about; light shall shine upon your path" (Job 22:28) Orot Hakodesh III, p.296 The World of Humanity A supernal ethical gaze flows from supernal consciousness of the divine. It places its seal on the nexus where God's will and the ultimate purpose of sexuality join. That seal is the eternal and infinite aspect of sexuality concealed in one's human character. In this invaluable point, all supernal pleasures are concealed. There exists a precious strategy whose goal is to rectify this holy foundation, to turn sexuality and its essential offshoots to the holy goal of life. That strategy is the cornerstone of all ethical values. It establishes the world of humanity, both internal and external. Days will come when the general culture will gaze with exalted appreciation at the divine glory pervading those thoughts that now appear benighted to those who are sexually gross, who have an unrefined consciousness, who remain outside the camp of Israel. Those thoughts are connected, in the mystic aspect of ethics, to sexual rectification, to all the fast-day prayers and outcries of
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those who have strayed. "Light is sown for the righteous, and to those who have an honest heart, joy." Orot Hakodesh III, p. 296
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SPIRITUALITY AND PHYSICALITY

To Love This World Well To love this world well, we must submerge ourselves deeply in the love of the world-to-come. We must carry out all the improvements of this world in the most comprehensive way possible. These in fact are comprehensive preparations for the sake of each detail and the complete entirety of the life of the world-to-come. Only then will culture stride forward with confidence. This is a great wisdom, which is known to faith. This wisdom is so great that it will ultimately conquer the entire world. When despair fills each soul and the life of this world is devalued, then the love of the world-to-come approaches, offering the dew of life that will vivify the life of this world. Elders and youth will gaze towards it together, and shine. And kings and ministers, fighters and warriors, will find within it the source of the rich dew of their lives. Orot Hakodesh III, p. 178 Even When Your Body Is Broken and Shattered Even when your body is broken and shattered and your spirit is dismayed and maimed because of so many miseries-spiritual and physical--spiritual pleasantness does not cease giving its honey and sweet influence. These soothe your spirit and give it an inner pleasure even in the midst of its darknesses. This sweetness is drawn by every one of us from our own outpouring of Torah and mitzvos: from performing them and from our intent when we do so. Just as this applies to each one of us, so does it apply to the entire Jewish nation, which draws constantly from the sweet goodness of the inner holiness of the pleasantness of God, which
sweetens life and pours forth a pattern that has achieved honor and rectification. Then life is filled with a content of inner satisfaction in the depth of the universal soul of the community of Israel, whose rays and sparks of light stream toward every one of us, according to how much we have cultivated on our soul's illumination, and according to the extent of our inner connection to the whole. Orot Hakodesh III, p. 174 The Two Extremes of Sleep Sleep--and, generally, the natural character of the night, which causes sleep and which is appropriate for sleep--influences the aspects of life within us in two separate directions. Our higher, spiritual aspect can rise very high. Our imagination is freed from the framework of the senses. If it is constantly connected to the intellect and to a supernal, holy desire, it can visualize and imagine, gaze and recognize those things it will not sense when we are awake. On the other hand, the power of life within our body now lacks its connection to our spiritual aspect. That power acts alone, expressing its natural tendencies in a dark, cloudy form. To these two points, archetypes cling. Pure lights cling to our supernal soul from a higher illumination. On the other hand, darkness, the desiccation of pollution and gross negative energies cling to the vital spirit, from the dark muck that had been lying within ourselves, that now bubbles up in the mud of a life limited to the physical. Every morning, we deal with both these energies in serving God. We purify our vital spirit, and we connect ourselves to the lights that have been added to our supernal human soul. Once again, we fuse the two polarities in felicitous harmony. Orot Hakodesh I, p. 230
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The Month of Spring: Enjoying the New Fruits The forces of divinity spread throughout existence, each finding its own level. In matter, in plants, in animals--these forces appear as still requiring improvement. They only reach their perfection when we human beings make use of such an object, when we raise its energy into moral, honest consciousness-according to the divine, supernal awareness and light that shines in our soul. When we make a blessing on food, it affects the energies of blossoming and growth like a holy lightning bolt, like a blessing from heaven. All of existence is blessed with an abundance of light. Holy joy spreads from our soul upon all of creation: from the depth of its roots to the heights of its branches, buds and fruits. Moadei Harayah, p. 287 Spirituality and Materialism When there is an excessive tendency toward materialism, out of balance with the tendency toward spirituality, nations disintegrate. As regards the people of Israel, that balance is chiseled into the essence of who we are. However, that is so only to a degree that prevents the disease of an exaggerated disposition from becoming so permanent that it is beyond repair. But we can be damaged by an excessive disposition--in fact, because of our sharp character, we can be damaged even more than any other nation. Idolatry--which harmed us during the long era that lasted until the destruction of the first Temple--was the result of an excessive physical orientation. In addition, it became the basis for consequences that ultimately conveyed many degenerate traits. During the time of the second Temple, although idolatry weakened, those damaging consequences came forth and were revealed in the form of causeless hatred.
There was only one medicine for that disease: the nation was shattered in such a way that it had few days to deal with physical matters as a nation. And so, during all the days of the long exile, the entire nation turned only to exalted and elevated matters. There were individuals who turned toward their physicality, following the measure of the drive of life and their desires. But the nation as a whole was not been involved with physical matters since the time it went into exile. However, an excessive, unbalanced orientation toward spirituality is also very damaging. Ultimately, it destroys the true glory of spirituality itself. However, in the role of medicine for an extreme physical orientation, it is effective any way that it is used. Our time, however, marks an awakening national revival. This is the sign that the general illness has already been healed: permission has already been granted to us to deal with physical matters as a nation. The first shift from the spiritual to the physical extreme must be a little bit uncontrolled and drastic. That is the source of "the arrogance preceding the days of the messiah." But the time of this extremism will not be long, because our nation is, in its core, balanced. The storm will grow calm. Matters will proceed to the highest side and toward a fit balance. People of influence must discover the spiritual light in physical orientation, together with its inner goal. In accordance with how they will reveal this in public, so will the illness of arrogance be healed and lose its evil signs. The nation as a whole will awaken to its natural existence, and the beauty of its soul will be revealed to it. Orot, p. 159 The Power of Life Your natural intellect is no replacement for your physical well-being. Rather, you must take care to fill yourself with the power of life and bodily strength so that your intellect can be
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housed in your body in its (?) full strength. As those who are familiar with nature put it, you need "a healthy spirit in a healthy body." In the same way, your heavenly, supernal intellect, which has the form of a holy phenomenon, cannot replace your natural intellect. The relationship of your supernal to your natural intellect is literally parallel to the relationship of your soul to your body. You must always satisfy the intellectual measure of your natural intellect in all its areas. This is necessary to make sure that you maintain, on a spiritual level, that parallel to a healthy spirit in a healthy body. In other words, the holy spirit, shining and evolved, must appear in the framework of your natural intellect that is enlightened, pure and clear, influenced by all those visions that are able to enter the circle of your sight, with all their depth of penetration. It is the nature of the Holy One, blessed be He, that an empty vessel cannot hold, but a full vessel does. As it is said: "Give wisdom to the wise and understanding to those who have understanding"; and "In the heart of all who are wise of heart have I given wisdom." Orot Hakodesh I, pp. 66-7 The Sound of the Many Waters Just as physicality in its influence contradicts the spreading out of spirituality--and so, "it is fitting that the righteous break their bones for the sake of the honor of the Holy One, blessed be He"-so are there holy people who hide their eye from any revealed knowledge so that their mind may be free and pure to spiritual, elevated knowledge, which are hidden, which are considered in relation to the revealed like spirituality in relation to physicality. And just as the highest level is to come to peace--so that one's physicality will not at all disturb the spiritual illumination; and to the contrary, the more the body gains strength, the spiritual
power will grow more exalted--so is there such a supernal level that the more the power of the revealed intellect is revealed, will grow the power of the hidden knowledge and the sharpness of its survey, in the depth of its insight. And just as the essence of the disturbance of how physicality disturbs spirituality does not come from the strength of the body in itself--because to the contrary, the body must be healthy and whole for the sake of the spiritual illumination--but the essence of the matter depends in the conceptual connection with the physicality; so will not harm spirituality the essence of practical knowledge of the world and life and all paths of utilizing them, even on the first level. And the essential care is necessary in the open influence of metaphysics--which is also a spiritual influence, and one species is harmful to its own species--until the power of the holy in the full meaning is built and established. Then one will be able to gaze at all the spiritual aspects: in revealed and hidden matters, in the holy and in the secular. And the more one increases the wealth of study, one increases spiritual strength for one's soul; and the revealed will investigate for itself the hidden, and the secular will do so to the holy. From the sounds of the many waters, breakers of the sea, mighty in the heights is Hashem, Your testimonies are very faithful, to Your house is holiness fitting, Hashem, for length of days. And in "length of days" are included all days and all influences, all phenomena and all illuminations, all sciences and all feelings, all aspects of gazing and all paths of knowledge. Orot Hakodesh I, p. 65-66 The Holiness of the Jewish Body
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The illumination that is drawn down on this day comes from the aspect of the holiness of the Jewish body. On the first Purim, the Jews kept and accepted the Torah of their own free will (Shabbos 88b). Therefore, on this day, the shadows flee--for our joy is on a high level, clinging to the illumination of the mind. And even if the light of the mind rises from the vessel of the body, the energies of the body are already holy, and cling with true perfection to the light of the countenance of the King of life. And so, how great is the mitzvah of getting intoxicated on Purim! By doing so, we draw down a great light (as the Ari explains). Olat Harayah, quoted in Moadei Harayah, p. 240
The Tangle of Physical Life Do not be affected by the fact that at times your heart is drawn to some lust or some character trait that is inappropriate. Do not conclude that the supernal expression of the wisdom of holiness is not suitable for you. This is a deception. We are placed constantly in the tangle of physical life. But the wisdom of God sanctifies our life and expands it as well. At times, fantasies and undesirable tendencies rage within our heart. But they stand ready to be annulled before the glory of God, which appears in our soul in the glory of holiness. Arpelei Torah, p. 78 Holy Exercise The exercise that the youth of Israel engage in in the land of Israel, strengthening their bodies to be strong and mighty children for the sake of the nation, perfects the spiritual power of the supernal tzaddikim who engage in unifications of the holy Names to increase the prominence of spiritual light in the world. The revelation of one light cannot stand at all without its fellow. ADovid made a name@ (Shmuel II 8). [He actually made God=s name (Zohar, Bechukotai 113). ADovid was just and charitable to all his people, and Yoav, son of Tzeruyah, commanded the army@ (ibid.). [The two were interdependent (Sanhedrin 49a).] AAvner was punished because he made the blood of the youths a sport@ (Vayikra Rabbah 26). [But] when young people engage in sport to strengthen the power and spirit for the sake of the might of the entire nation, that holy service raises God=s Presence higher and higher, as it is raised by the songs and praises that Dovid, King of Israel, expressed in the book of Psalms. By means of supernal intentions, the inner soul rises. By means of actions that strengthen individuals= bodies for the sake of the all, outer spirituality rises. These two together bring to perfection the arrangements of all holiness, emphasizing the
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character of the nation in that small phrase upon which all the limbs of the Torah depend:AIn all your ways, know Him.@ Do not be surprised to find imperfections in the way of life of those who are engaged in physical strength and in all types of earthy might in the nation of Israel. Even the manifestation of the holy spirit must come forth from the admixture of drops of uncleanness with which it was mingled. It grows ever more pure, more holy and more clear, and redeems itself from its exile, until it comes to a general path of the righteous. AA radiant light grows ever brighter, until the day is full@ (Mishlei 4). Orot, Orot Hatechiyah 34 The Living Kernel The deep holy spirit of Judaism strives to unite the life of activity and the life of transcendence. This spirit is the soulful power that generates Jewish law and its minutiae. It provides a living kernel for Talmudic logic, expanding its borders in the thisworldly environs of Jewish law and Talmudic reasoning. Orot Hatorah 8:3
GOOD AND EVIL

Increase the Good
Those who are pure and righteous do not complain about evil, but increase justice. They do not complain about godlessness, but increase faith. They do not complain about ignorance, but increase wisdom. Eretz Cheifetz All of the Plague Has Turned Pure White Within the totality of the world-Both this-worldly and spiritual-The only evil to be found Is that which exists In its isolated state. But in the gathering of everything, Everything is good--literally-Not because evil is nullified into the majority (As the desiccated accounting would have it), But when seen from the perspective Of the value That is independent and ideal. From this, you can understand That to the degree That the quantity of movement Toward wholeness grows, Evil decreases And goodness is revealed.
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Not only that, But the gathering of evil in all its parts Appears as the depths Of a very great goodness, Connecting in the depth of the heat of its yearning To total goodness, With which evil will not abide-"All of the plague has turned pure white." The life that is hidden In this eternal point of view Is what maintains the world, Placing a bandage on the face Of all destructive forces, Not allowing them to cause The world to totter. "And he will guard heights upon heights." Orot Hakodesh II, p. 454 The Purpose of Evil We see the evil within the individual and in the life of human society. We find that with all its negativity and evil, it has a purpose--a temporary purpose. Evil contains particular power, the might of will and the depths of life. These are necessary components with which to perfect virtue and goodness. And we are assured that in the end, the evil will pass. The individual will be perfected and society will be perfected. Then everything will stand upon the basis of goodness. Evil will evaporate, and the yearning of evil, the wrath, the murder, the coarseness, and all their offshoots, will evaporate like smoke. The same process applies to the entire world. Without any doubt, this power of evil hungering for evil causes upheaval in the world. It rules and is filled with force, all the days of evil, as long as the world requires the evil upheaval, the
universal evil-doer hungers, with all his branches, to exterminate and destroy, to poison and pollute, to darken and blacken, to separate and explode. And he extends his evil until the final time, until the world will be perfected, until a new spirit, a spirit of pure life, will breathe upon human beings, when holy souls will awaken for the endeavor of true liberation, and take refuge the kingdom of supernal holy ones. Everything mentioned in the words of the sages--all their puzzling sayings regarding evil and its existence, regarding its temporary power and force, regarding its destruction and annihilation in the end of days--it is all is sealed in a writing of truth. Orot Hakodesh III, p. 478 The World of Humanity Spiritual idealism knows nothing of quantitative separation. It recognizes only inclusivity and unity. It surveys particulars only as being a factor within the totality. Therefore, it can only recognize an all-inclusive goodness. And it can only recognize evil when it is all-inclusive. And because an all-inclusive evil does not exist at all, and all-inclusiveness proceeds in relation to the manifestations in the form of time, for idealism does not considers and is connected to its unique point, but with its entire great outpouring, as a result, it comes to recognize that there is no universality to the existence of evil. Rather, all is goodness. "And God saw what He had made, and behold, it was very good." Physical mass creates a separation between existing objects and, automatically, their opposing natures. As long as an awareness of good and evil exists, you do not have to connect your nature to this state of being: "he may not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil." Only the tree of life, which is all good, is prepared for you. Also prepared for you is: "Eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil"--after you pass the many tests that you must go through, when your pollution is
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continuously cleansed, so that you are completely purified and your character traits are rectified, and the awareness of the tree of life again connects with you. Then the tree of knowledge of good and evil turns into a tree filled entirely with life and goodness. There is no generation in which this great labor, clarifying awareness and the will in order to burn evil from its existence, will be completed. This is the foundation and maintenance of the world. "Say to the tzaddik that it is good." The world is renewed when the Torah is renewed. A revelation that comes in a limited form is a reduced condensation with no measure or value at all, after the spiritual and mighty waves have already gushed and gone by, descended from world to world, contracted again and again, until they finally appeared to us in the form of some revelation. In its root, revelation is not individual, intellectual illumination, but global: the revelation of a new heavens, or a new earth--depending on what you dealt with, its worth and its content. The same greatness that spreads through the soul, whose incandescence breaks down and weakens the frame of the letters, is the greatness that includes within its hiddenness all the details of the lights that illumine the letters. To reveal the letters and their details, pray and direct your heart to our Father in heaven, Who is all-powerful, Who merges them together, the great and the small: "He sits on His throne, and gazes down on heaven and earth." From the supernal light of true prayer, the prayer of the righteous, a great light emerges from the region of supernal equality, where no light pushes light aside, but each strengthens and illumines the other. This light, this dew of desire, causes all the letters, with their vowels and their smallest details, to sprout from that supernal illumination itself. Orot Hakodesh I, p. 179 Our Soul Yearns for Total Goodness I. What causes the continued presence of the idea of the
existence of evil in the world? Our point of view should be able to rise to a reckoning of a clear and inclusive world. It should be able to observe a totality that is good and complete. The idea of the existence of evil is merely a diminution of the illumination that is filtered through various levels. As a result of that diminution, the soul asks: "Why can't everything be exalted, completely good and great?" We might respond that a division into levels is necessary for the improvement of the world. But by saying so, we appeal to the idea of impossibility. We are claiming that it is impossible to bring about perfection without division into levels. However, claiming that anything else than such a division is impossible impairs our appreciation of the supernal, our sense of the ultimate and infinite ability of the Creator of everything.
II. When we arrive at the depth of the matter, we uproot the entirety of this misleading idea, this definitive statement regarding division into levels, which results in complaints about the narrowness of reality. There are two reasons for [complaint]. III. The first reason [for complaint] is an internal one. Through the true revelation of the all, the viewpoint of unity is revealed. In unity, everything is truly great and exalted, without any smallness or diminution whatsoever. When our eye is weary, we see smallness and diminution. But even this has a [positive] consequence. We are impelled to examine the basis of goodness, greatness and light. We realize that our sense that greatness and light are the ultimate goodness and fulfillment is true--in its place. What is that place? Wherever it is fit that infinite greatness and goodness be revealed.
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But there are also places where diminution is fitting. There, diminution and smallness themselves comprise the complete and total goodness--just as greatness does in its place. Then everything rises and returns to a state of total goodness, which doesn't require any measure of withholding. The measure of withholding is a reality that appears dualistic: there are two aspects completing one other. One aspect is like the soul and the other like the body. Darkness perfects goodness, which is light. There is no day without night. Day and night provide the basis for the perfection of the framework of time. If not for the darkness, which presents the viewpoint of separation, there would be no drive toward continuous ascent. That drive is basic. It perfects everything, until the quality of perfection in existence is no longer lacking: neither the [static] perfect quality that has no excess (and certainly no lack); nor the perfect quality that constantly adds perfection and that diffuses a constant, never-ending pleasure. If not for the viewpoint of separation, we would only be aware of the quality of completeness. There would be no progress, no renewal of ascent. And so the diminution, which causes the renewal of ascent, is literally complete good, like complete goodness itself. From the aspect of that diminution's ultimate supernal, infinite perfection, it has no connection to addition and ascent. IV. There remains only the feeling of pain and sorrow. We ask regarding this feeling: Why does it exist? Sorrow is ameliorated in two ways. The first is by accepting suffering with love. That is the level of supernal consciousness. The second is by attaining a supernal viewpoint that transcends consciousness of belief in the quality of goodness.
V. And so, everything is truly the measure of goodness, with no necessary conditions, no necessary circumstances. This will certainly be revealed in the messianic future. At that time, we will make the blessing on everything, whether apparently good or bad, "He is good and does good." At that time, God's name [of compassion] will be pronounced just as it is written [when it indicates strictness]. VI. Nevertheless, [there are] viewpoints that give credence to this withholding, with a proper appreciation for the supernal honor. These viewpoints have their place, once darkness exists. To the degree that these viewpoints reconcile our consciousness, their essence comes from the supernal light of truth that shines on those viewpoints. All the bitterness and pain that we feel in those viewpoints comes from the foundation of darkness. That darkness, however, is continuously transformed into great light. Orot Hakodesh II, pp. 461-63 Beyond the Tree of Knowledge Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook spoke one Purim, when his heart was rejoicing with wine, the wine of Torah: "Rava said: A person is obligated to get intoxicated on Purim, until he does not know the difference between 'Cursed is Haman' and 'Blessed is Mordechai' (Megillah 7b)." "Until he does not know"--until he rises beyond his knowledge, beyond the sin of the tree of knowledge, until he arrives at the radiance of Adam before the sin, before the sin of the tree of knowledge. And the sages taught: "What is the Torah source for
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Haman? The answer is found in the verse: "Is it so that from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from, you have eaten? (Bereishis 3:11)" (Chulin 139b). The word for "is it so" (hamin) has the same letters as does the word Haman. The eating of the tree of knowledge introduced evil into the world: "this evil Haman." But transcending the tree, before the sin of the tree of knowledge, there is no place for Haman in the world-his name and memory are erased, as though he never existed. Moadei Harayah, p. 258
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DEATH
Within the Spirit of All Creation Our temporary existence is only one spark of our eternal existence, the glory of ever-lasting life. There is only one way to bring forth the wealth of goodness concealed within our this-worldly life: and that is our connection to our eternal life. This is an inner understanding that dwells within the spirit of all creation. All the spiritual battles in the world cannot dislodge it. All they do is prepare the way before it. Even those forces that oppose this understanding ultimately, in the depths of truth, support it. A life of true civility and culture is based solidly on one's connection to eternity. The yearning for the glory of that eternity overwhelms death. It wipes the tear from every eye. Orot Hakodesh II, p. 377 Death is a False Phenomenon Death is a false phenomenon. What makes death unclean is that it spreads an aura of falsehood. Actually, what people call death is the opposite: an ascent into an even greater and more real life. We are plunged into the depths of small-mindedness. What has placed us here? Our physical and emotional drives. These drives, gazing upon this ascent into life, interpret it as a dreadful, black phenomenon that they label: death. In their purity, the cohanim must shield themselves from this falsehood. The only way to escape while this false consciousness lays spread across the earth is to avert one's eyes from any sights that cause one's soul to err. That is why the cohanim are commanded to avoid the vicinity of any dead person--for in their human apprehension of death, this falsehood,
they are defiled. Orot Hakodesh II, p. 380
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REDEMPTION
The Exodus Never Ceases The exodus from Egypt only appears to be a past event. But in truth, the exodus never ceases. The arm of God that was revealed in Egypt to redeem the Jews is constantly outstretched, constantly active. The revelation of the hand of God is the breaking through of the light of God, shining great lights for all generations. Moadei Harayah, p. 292 True Freedom Sometimes we rigidly cling to a state of consciousness or point of view that keep us stuck in wrongness--whether wrong acts or wrong viewpoints. And that has become our norm. This rigidity is an illness that comes from having being immersed in a terrible slave mentality, a mentality that does not allow the liberating light of teshuvah to illumine, with its awesome strength. Teshuvah yearns for real, true freedom. That is divine freedom, which has nothing to do with slavery. Orot Hateshuvah, p. 42 We Yearn to Be Filled with Greatness Our constant goal is not only to be redeemed from Egypt, not only to be healed from wounds and delivered from disease, not only to come forth from the bonds of poverty and the darkness of blindness. We yearn to be filled with greatness: with the great wealth of the soul. We thirst for a fresh life, filled with brilliance. And we come to the land of Israel. We hope for redemption, we pine for a redemption of the soul, so that the
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unveiling will be total, so that rays of eternal life will stream from the source of the holy of holies, from the source of the love of pleasure of the eternal Rock, who illumines the lovely land for us with beams of glory. Moadei Harayah, p. 292 The Uplifting Never Ceases "I am Hashem your God, Who raises you from the land of Egypt." Not only are we taken out, but we are also raised. And that uplifting never ceases. There is no limit to the uplifting, and no end to the exalted yearning. Moadei Harayah, p. 292 Elijah the Prophet Elijah the prophet comes to proclaim peace: including peace between the holy within nature and the holy that transcends nature. In the inner soul of the nation, a life-stream of nature breaks forth and flows toward the holy. We all are approaching nature, even as it comes toward us. It is subjugated to our exalted desires--desires that come from the source of holiness. In the essence of the depth of nature, a great call grows for holiness and purity, for refinement of the spirit and purification of life. The youthful spirit that demands its land, its language, its freedom and honor, its literature and power, flows in the stream of nature. But its substance is filled with the fire of holiness. Moadei Harayah, p. 318 The Supernal Purpose of Man
Opposed to the degradation of the spirit of slavery, which degrades all ethical feelings, remembering the exodus from Egypt, in which God brought us out with a strong hand from slavery to freedom, lifts up our refined, exalted feelings, which guide us to the supernal purpose of man in the world. Moadei Harayah, p. 289 Any Force That Suppresses Our Worth I. There are two conditions for redemption. One is physical freedom from all outside subjugation, from all subjugation that oppresses the image of God within us, from all subjugation to any force that suppresses our worth. The other is the freedom of the soul, the freedom of the spirit, from whatever takes it away from its true and strong path. True freedom is that elevated spirit that lifts the individual and the entire nation to be faithful to the inner core, to the image of God within. II. What was the purpose of sending the signs and wonders "against Pharaoh and all his servants" (Tehillim 135:9)? Pharaoh was the king of Egypt, compared to a great serpent, a self-declared god who stated, "The Nile is mine, for I have created it." His servants constituted a nation of physicality, a nation "whose flesh is the flesh of horses" (Ezek.). The signs and wonders inform all generations that the foreskin of the heart of man--whether its cause is a purposeful wickedness that stems from ego, or a closed heart and wildness that stem from ignorance--will not obstruct the divine light, will not impede its appearance in the world.
III. Recalling the exodus from Egypt lifts the Jewish soul and sanctifies it in its own holy light.
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The remembrance of the great light of the exodus from Egypt--the appearance of the miracles and wonders which are the nucleus of the coming forth of the wondrous, divine nation in its wondrous birth--itself presses its seal, the seal of holiness, into the midst of every one of us and into the depth of our heart. The Springtime of the Entire World
I. The exodus from Egypt will eternally remain the springtime of the entire world. II. If the Holy One, blessed be He, had not brought our forefathers out of Egypt to eternal freedom--that is, to the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai--the entire world and the entire path of human life would have remained frozen, without the ability to change. III. "Today you are leaving, in the month of spring." This day is unique in its spiritual nature, prepared for the exodus of Israel from Egypt, in the season of spring, when blossoming and life are renewed in all of nature. The effect of this exodus is one that penetrates all of existence and nature, and transcends nature. IV. The intent of the pollution of Egypt was to obstruct the flow of life of the divine light, so that it would never shine. It was necessary to lay a road for the illumination of the light of a life of holiness and to open the gate until its full illumination would rectify the world. V. The basis of the exodus from Egypt was to battle the pollution of Egypt--the gross nature of life that immerses us into the depths of secular existence--and to transform the great power within such a secular, gross life into the power of a life that is
sublime and magnificent in its holiness. Moadei Harayah, pp. 287-89 Experience That Greatness Now We must immediately grasp the measure of the great light that constantly causes the light of redemption to penetrate us-- even as it only begins with a meager appearance. We are summoned from the depths of our soul to experience that greatness even now--even if it sends forth only the slightest rays of light. Moadei Harayah, pp. 387-8
Broad and Elevated Thoughts If, by your nature, your thoughts are broad and elevated in their supernal purity, do not lower yourself and limit your spirit within mediocre thoughts, even if they are good and honorable in essence. Arpelei Torah, p. 53 They Shall Not Be Untrue There are matters that are good and holy, which are sustained by ugly causes. For instance, weakness, falsehood and wickedness at times support the good basis of shame, modesty, faith, and the like. "To the righteous, the good deeds of the wicked are evil." Similarly, the goodness that something good and holy receives from something evil and unclean causes great evils. The light of redemption reaches actuality only when all evil foundations--even those that strengthen the good and holy--are
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destroyed. This causes pain to goodness, holy and faith. It causes them to descend and appear impoverished. But in truth, that impoverishment and descent are ascent and improvement. After the evil foundations disintegrate, the light of purity and holiness immediately begins to blossom upon healthy foundations of knowledge, wisdom, might, harmony, eternity and glory. And with this, the eternal kingship is established in the light of God and His goodness, in the end of days, with the faithful love of David, an eternal covenant that shall never prove false. "And He said: 'Indeed, they are My people, children who shall not be untrue'; and He will be their savior. In all their suffering, He suffers, and the angel of His countenance has saved them. He has redeemed them in His love and mercy. And He took them and raised them all the days of the world" (Isaiah 63:8-9). Arpelei Torah, pp. 108-09 From When Do We Read Sh=ma in the Evening? "From when do we read Sh=ma in the evening? From the time that the cohanim enter to eat their terumah" (Berachot 2a). The reading of Sh=ma in the evening and the morning signifies two types of calling out in God's name that are incumbent upon the Jewish people. We must accept upon ourselves the yoke of the kingdom of heaven; our proclamation that the name of Hashem is one must ultimately cause all inhabitants of the world to recognize and know that Hashem, the God of Israel, is King, and that His kingdom extends over all. However, during our exile, which is comparable to evening, our main activity is to influence ourselves, to fortify ourselves in the name of Hashem, in order to stand against the waves that roll over us. Therefore, at night, "whoever does not conclude the evening Sh=ma with the words 'true and faithful' has not fulfilled his obligation" (Berachot 12a). Night is a time of faith. For us, it is enough to have faith, to receive the truth from our forefathers,
who saw the light of God and His glory eye to eye. However, in the time of the redemption, the might of Israel shall be exalted. That will be the time of reading Sh=ma in the morning--at that time, Sh=ma is introduced by the words "with great love." At that time, all the nations will proclaim the light of Israel to be an eternal light. Then, all those aspects of the Torah that had been hidden will become revealed (Pesachim 3a). In order to draw close those who are distant, it is fitting to clarify the words of truth and to translate the matter in accordance with the superficial understanding of the nations. Therefore, the morning Sh=ma concludes with the words "emet veyatziv"--emet is "truth" in Hebrew, and "yatziv" is "established" in Aramaic. The people of Israel are the priests of God in this world. In regard to their involvement with inner matters amongst themselves, they have nothing to do with outsiders. When the cohanim teach Torah or even when they offer sacrifices, they have a connection with outsiders. They may be our agents or God's agents (Yoma 19a), but they rate, at any rate, agents. However, when they enter to eat the priestly portion of terumah, they enter a cohanic sphere, where it is forbidden to be in partnership with an outsider. An outsider has no part in that food at all, and it is necessary to be separate. Similarly, the time of the evening Sh=ma causes Israel to be a separate nation, so that it may guard its holy acquisitions: an eternal life with God in its midst. Thus there is a connection between reading Sh=ma in the evening and the time that the cohanim enter to eat their terumah. Ein Ayah A Nation Born in an Instant The concept of matzah is characterized by the themes of bread of poverty and hasty departure. At the core, the hasty exodus was at the initiative of God. It was meant to raise the level of Israel--not in accordance with
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gradual development, which every other nation experiences as (in a natural progression) its physical and spiritual levels proceed slowly--but rather that the great forces that were asleep in the spirit of the Jewish nation the entire time it was in Egypt, oppressed by poverty and degradation both physical and moral, burst suddenly forth from potential to actual, until the people of Israel were transformed from lowly slaves into a cultured nation with a divine culture, rich and lofty, a holy nation fit for the most elevated guidance, the greatest light: that of the true Torah. Then behold, a nation was born in an instant. The hand of God accomplished this in order to establish Israel as a nation before Him with His strong hand. Therefore, the essence of its structure is that its national being may not be adulterated by any cultural form, that all the spiritual acquisitions of a national nature that the Jews witnessed in Egypt did not touch them at all. They pulled away from the little that clung to their hand of Egyptian idolatry before they sacrificed the paschal lamb, to the point that they were divested of any national form. Then it was possible for the impression of the divine form to rest upon them, in a manner that would set the foundation of the structure of the nation in its entirety. "Hashem alone has established him, and there is no strange god with him." If not for the fact that Israel is a nation that can only develop in accordance with the divine planting, to which no other form can be grafted, there would have been no need whatsoever for that haste. Instead, the Jews would have developed bit by bit, higher and higher, from the midst of the Egyptian culture to a superior culture, until they would have been prepared to receive the Torah. However, since every other culture impedes the ability of the holiness of the Torah and the divine form unique to Israel from resting upon it, the nation of Israel was never qualified for gradual growth. And therefore, the haste was imperative. Thus, the symbol of the Jewish people is matzah, which lacks the form of any taste; yet which, when it reaches its fullness
and goodness, is filled with the taste of many meanings. Therefore, this separation from the generality of nations that lies within the exodus, this burgeoning independence, brought about the matzah, the withholding of gradualism, the nullification of the admixture of alien powers. "Hashem is our king, Hashem is our lawgiver, and He shall redeem us." Olat Harayah, p. 287 Miriam=s Well Rabbi Chiya said: AA person who wishes to see Miriam=s well should go to the top of the Carmel [Mountain] and gaze, and he will see something like a sieve in the sea. This is the well of Miriam@ (Shabbos 35). (Rashi: This well accompanied Israel in the desert in the merit of Miriam.) The generation of the desert contained within itself the spiritual power of Israel in all its particulars, to the end of all generations. AThe kindness of your youth, the love of your bridal state, your following Me in the desert@ (Jeremiah 2:2). [The word for Abridal state@ can be interpreted as Atotality.@] The foundation of supernal life that flows from the depth of Torah--[this life] is hidden in the Great Sea, the Sea of Torah, which comes forth from the height of the Supernal Mind, the Source of wisdom and knowledge, may He be blessed. The ability to draw from it and quench the thirst of every heart--so that every individual will sense and feel his intense connection to the holiness of Israel through the holiness of Hashem and the holy Torah--depends upon the power of good feeling in the emotional, pure heart. [This feeling] is placed in a human being=s limited heart, which changes with shifting circumstances. Nevertheless, this supernal, pure and sanctified feeling--by means of which the connection of Israel to their Rock and Redeemer and to the holy Torah is built--is great and mighty, without an end and
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limit. The source of this pure feeling and the merit of receiving it from the generation of the desert (who also bequeath to us the Torah of the living God, Aan inheritance for the congregation of Yaacov@ (Devorim 33:4) is the merit of Miriam. Woman is liable to an extra measure of feeling. In accordance with the greatness of her divine status, she was suitable to establish in the people of Israel the foundation of Jewish feeling. This is not like any other feeling, whose source is the storminess of the heart that comes from seeing this fleeting present. Rather, its source and stance is the Great Sea, the Sea of Torah, the source of wisdom and truth, which has no end or limit. In the days of [the prophet] Eliyahu, when the Jews had descended to the lowest level, what was it that influenced them to return, after seeing the miracle of [God=s] reply by fire, to re-accept the yoke of the kingdom of heaven and to cry out, AHashem is God@ (Melachim I 18:39), after they had descended so astonishingly and their heart had turned aside (Ibid., ibid. 37)? They had not yet arisen to the Supernal Mind, nor did the light of the Torah that they had abandoned for so long illuminate them in actuality. However, the power of Jewish feeling, hidden in the heart, awoke. This was so even though it was not visible at a glance, even though it was swallowed up amongst a mass of various feelings. But it could be seen with the inner gaze. [This feeling may] appear to have no firm stance. Just as [the heart] can be filled with feeling and arousal, so, it seems, can it be emptied out. However, this is not the measure of the feeling of Jewish holiness, which brings the entire nation to cling to its Maker. In truth, it is connected to and clings to the depth of the Sea of Wisdom, so that all the spiritual treasure filled with all the strength and beauty in the world sustains and creates it. Even if the sight of something [in the world] causes [the heart] to empty out, [its waters] will immediately be filled by the power of the sea that
surrounds it, by the power of ideas of truth and conceptions filled with knowledge beyond investigation. Therefore, [the heart] is constantly full. The vessel itself--the heat and storminess of the heart--does not have the grasp and lasting power of the idea and thought and their permanent connection. But Aa person who wishes to see Miriam=s well@--[a person may wish to see that pure feeling] despite its similarity to some passing feeling, which is burdened by the commotion of other flitting feelings filling a person=s heart, which is like a sieve that, as soon as it is filled with water, empties it out. [This person should go] to Athe top of the Carmel [Mountain]@--to the top of the glorious achievement that is also the eternity of the echo of the call, AHashem is God,@ which came forth and still comes forth from tens of thousands, even when they are on the lowest, most degraded level, as the direct outcome of the holiness of their natural feeling. It may not be recognized because, with violent action, the Torah is abandoned and there is a commotion of the abandonment of the customary [difficult phrase]. But Ahe will gaze,@ and recognize Asomething like a sieve.@ One may not trust [the heart=s] ability to hold water. Who would gather water in a sieve? But since it stands Ain the sea,@ its waters are assuredly within it. This feeling is not the offspring of ideas born to temporary sights, but a divine, eternal feeling (although revealed in a form of feeling and a matter of the heart). Since in its essence it flows from the sure source of the light of the entire world, of the entire sea of wisdom and the treasure house of the Torah and the knowledge of the true God, that is Athe well of Miriam.@ This is the power of its eternity, forever and ever. Ein Ayeh Supernal Holiness Supernal holiness is a holiness of silence, a holiness of being, when we recognize ourselves, our own particular inner self,
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as nullified, and we live an all-inclusive life: a life of all. We feel the life of the inanimate, plant and animal, the life of the entire totality, of all humanity, of every individual, the life of every mind and every intelligence, everyone who strives and everyone who feels. Then with us, existence, in its entirety, rises to its source. And the source is revealed continuously--upon itself and upon us-with great glory, in the splendor of holiness, in truth and tranquility. All happiness, all that is good and just, all strength and harmony, all might and power flow upon us. We are the light of the world, its foundation and the force of the drawing forth of its life. In our merit, the entire world is sustained. Yet in our own yes, we are entirely as nothing. We are not set aside, separate, apart. We are alive, and all of our life is a holy of holies, a life of life. The beating of our heart, the flow of our blood, the ideals of our spirit, our look and the gaze of our eyes: all of these are a life of truth, a life of divine might pouring into them and through them. If this holiness of silence will cast itself down to a restricted serve--to prayer, Torah, the constriction of particular ethics and care--we will suffer and be oppressed, we will feel that a soul filled with all existence is being crushed in tongs, imprisoned and compressed in measurement, the designation of one specific road, at a time that all roads together are opened before us, all of them filled with light, all of them containing life. The arrogance in the era preceding the messiah stems from an inner yearning for the holiness of supernal silence. In the end it will come, for in the future, Israel will rise yet higher than the ministering angels, who will ask: "What has God wrought? What is now being taught in the heavenly academy?" The sons of the arrogant, of those who make breaches in the roads and fences, will in the future be prophets of the highest order, of the level of Moses and with the supernal radiance of Adam. The tree of life completely, in the full depth of its goodness, will be revealed in them and by them. To bring this supernal light to the world, it is necessary to
have the service of holy people filled with supernal love, who reveal in the meditation of their heart and sensitivity of their soul the treasury of goodness hidden in the most particular unique nature of the life-force of Israel. And it is also necessary to have a populace connected to the holiness of the forefathers, to the inheritance of the community of Jacob, yearning for the central point of its life with all its might, fearful and suffering regarding the destruction, recoiling from the breach of the fences, girding its strength to keep and guard every ruling written with faith and skill. In life, there appear disputes between Torah scholars and different paths that contradict one another. But the outpouring of light brings about its accomplishment in the chambers of the soul, of the soul of the nation in its great holiness. And the light of the messiah is increasingly revealed. Arpelei Torah, pp. 16-17 An Elixir of Life and a Drug of Death The concept of evolution of existence and of all beings both depresses and elevates our spirit. Within ourselves, an elixir of life and a drug of death are immersed together. When we turn to the past, we see the degradation that had existed then. We also see that as we stand now--morally, intellectually, physiologically--we surpass that past. Then in one regard, our mind grows self-satisfied; our moral restraints grow feeble. Regarding our present moral level, we claim--when struck by the evil spirit of some desire--that it is beyond our measure: much more than can be expected of creatures like us, who come from an animalistic nature and a coarse wildness. In contrast, the outlook of evolution relating to the future exalts and elevates us: literally, to such a moral height that it is right that we think of ourselves in accordance with our understanding of the greatness of humanity at the beginning of its existence, of humanity's divine dwelling-place before its exile--in that primeval era--from the garden of Eden.
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The more that we rise in knowledge and wisdom, in learning Torah and in good character traits, the more does our moral sense--intellectual and imaginative--soar. We proceed to the future. Automatically and continuously, the concept of evolution acts upon us, straightening our ways and supporting our moral faculties, until we enter palaces of holiness and purity with supernal might, filled with the power of God. Then, the outlook of the past girds us with a strength of fear: we consider in our heart the terrible degradation of the past. We feel that if we disgrace our ways, we may fall back to that same dark degradation, rather than--by rectifying our ways and actions, private and communal--beholding a great light that shines forever, rising without end, substantial before us. Orot Hakodesh II, p. 543
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UNIVERSALISM
The Glory of All I love all; I cannot but love all: All the nations. From my very depth, I want the glory of all, The perfection of all. My love to Israel burns more greatly And is deeper, But this inner desire spreads out in the force of its love To all. I have no need at all to force this feeling of love-It wells directly from the holy depth of Wisdom Of the Godly soul. Arpelei Tohar 22, quoted in Mishnato Shel Harav Kook, p. 307 The Fourfold Song There is a person who sings the song of his soul. He finds everything, his complete spiritual satisfaction, within his soul. There is a person who sings the song of the nation. He steps forward from his private soul, which he finds narrow and uncivilized. He yearns for the heights. He clings with a sensitive love to the entirety of the Jewish nation and sings its song. He shares in its pains, is joyful in its hopes, speaks with exalted and pure thoughts regarding its past and its future, investigates its inner spiritual nature with love and a wise heart. There is a person whose soul is so broad that it expands beyond the border of Israel. It sings the song of humanity. This soul constantly grows broader with the exalted totality of humanity and its glorious image. He yearns for humanity's general enlightenment. He looks forward to its supernal perfection. From
this source of life, he draws all of his thoughts and insights, his ideals and visions. And there is a person who rises even higher until he unites with all existence, with all creatures, and with all worlds. And with all of them, he sings. This is the person who, engaged in the Chapter of Song every day, is assured that he is a child of the World-to-Come. And there is a person who rises with all these songs together in one ensemble so that they all give forth their voices, they all sing their songs sweetly, each supplies its fellow with fullness and life: the voice of happiness and joy, the voice of rejoicing and tunefulness, the voice of merriment and the voice of holiness. The song of the soul, the song of the nation, the song of humanity, the song of the world--they all mix together with this person at every moment and at all times. And this simplicity in its fullness rises to become a song of holiness, the song of God, the song that is simple, doubled, tripled, quadrupled, the song of songs of Solomon--of the king who is characterized by completeness and peace. Orot Hakodesh II, p. 444 The Liberated Light From the well of kindness, your love for humanity must burst forth--not as an unreasoned commandment, for then it would lose the most clear aspect of its brilliance, but as a powerful movement of the spirit within you. This love must withstand very difficult challenges. It must overcome many contradictions, which are scattered like boulders upon which you may stumble. These are found in isolated Torah statements, in the superficial aspect of some Torah laws, and in a multitude of points of view that stem from the constriction within the revealed aspect of the Torah and the national ethical sense. It is clear that when the love of humanity grows remote
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from its divine source, its blossom withers. And the divine source expresses its light through the conduits of Torah and mitzvah, and through the definition of the Jewish nation as unique. All this requires the effort of a great spirit: how to maintain these conduits where they stand, and yet draw the waters of kindness in their original purity and breadth. Again and again, we must descend to the depths of darkness in order to excavate--precisely from there--the most liberated light, the greatest and most elevated. Orot Hakodesh III, p. 318 We are Consoled for the Dust and Ashes When we gaze at that within creation which our senses can perceive, we view it as one organic being. We see that its parts are connected and integrated: every plant and every animal. As for humanity: we see how those highest parts within us, which carry a splendor of all-inclusive, ideal awareness, rely in their nature, being and existence on particular, primitive, mean components that we sometimes view with revulsion. The same dynamic applies universally to inter-relationship. When we gaze clearly, we clearly see with an individual precision. Even where our eye cannot penetrate, we discern with a clear understanding and a comprehension that is spiritual and profound: how all components of existence are interdependent. The deepest depths and the highest mountains are interrelated. They are integrated with each other. This awareness constantly makes us recognize that only because of the dark and unsightly lower states of being do the highest states of being, honorable and bright, come forth and climb to the zenith of their splendor. Then integration and unity constantly increase within us. From the world of the tangible, we move to the world of the non-material, to the thoughts and schemes of man, to the avenues
of various cultures, faiths and systems. And we are repelled, seeing how evil and foolishness have ruled and continue to rule in the paths of the human heart: in customs, opinions, beliefs, in how people live--privately and socially. We look at the abominations justified by faith, at all the sacrifices of humanity to idolatry, at all the victims of vile custom and at all the evils, degradations, weakness and darkness that have gained broad acceptance. On the other hand, we see flashes: the crown of grace of humanity's intelligence and virtue, the wisdom of the wise, the courage of the mighty, the flaming holy light of a pure and elevated faith, the ideals and hopes for the great future, and pillars of light that pervade the present. Seeing both of these, we immediately realize: all of this, all this non-material vision constitutes one world. It too has an organic content. It too, with the entire splendor of its soul, with the lightning flash of its holy spirit and the might of the God of gods within it, relies upon its base, upon its cellar. If not for the trash within the spirit of man, the fruit of our understanding--which gives joy to God and man--would not blossom. Then immediately, we are consoled for the dust and ashes. We lovingly accept the profound wisdom of the universal Architect, the Creator of all being, the God of all spirits, the Master of all souls, Who gives a soul to the people of the land and a spirit to those who walk upon it--so that from His goodness we may all draw goodness. Ever more strongly, we are girded with holiness and might. We begin to recognize our lowliness and greatness-simultaneously. We take pleasure in the flowers of grace and beauty that have blossomed upon the flower beds of human history. In this, we recognize something more exalted, something unendingly greater. We are all permeated with the yearning of song, we are all filled with might: to walk upright upon the road of light, to know
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the greatness within the ultimate harvest of the spirit, where all goodness and virtue, all light and freedom blossom. We take the fruit of faith in its purity, in its first-born state, to the degree that we can reach it, in accordance with our straight path of understanding. And as for whatever sparkles within us beyond the power of our mind, we know with faith that from the very heights, God guards. We are resolved to teach our upright wisdom. We are filled with the excellence of that divine greatness which we know as an inheritance from the early masters, from the teachings of the holy assemblies. "Who is like You, mighty God, surrounded by Your faithfulness?" (Psalms 89:9). Orot Hakodesh II, pp. 417-18 Limiting Goodness with Goodness Those who have great souls cannot be separated from the most encompassing inclusiveness. All of their desire and ideal is, constantly, the good of the entire universe in its full breadth, height and depth. This entirety is filled with infinite details of individuals and societies. It is crowned to the degree that it is filled with the perfection of its individual members and its groups, small and great, which complete it. Supernal inclusiveness, which perfects all, is found within the movement toward knowledge and love of God. That movement emanates automatically from the inclusiveness, in accordance with what that movement has acquired and its wealth. The knowledge of God that comes through great love must be filled with its own true light, in accordance with what each individual soul can bear and receive. The absolute light of that knowledge of God illumines the universal love: the love of all universes, all created beings, and the entire realm of life and its existence. The love of all existence fills the heart of those who are
good: the pious among all creatures and among humanity. They look forward to the happiness of all. They hope for the light and joy of all. They draw the love of all existence--which contains the full spectrum of the multiplicity of its creations--from the supernal love of God, from the love of the total and complete perfection of God, Who is the Cause of all, Who brings all into being and gives life to all. Love descends from the world of Emanation to the world of Creation by being divided into many details, into contradictions and opposites. This fulfills the purpose of constriction, the compression of value and love, into individual details, each for the sake of another detail; into many details, each for the sake of many others; and to details in general because of the complete entirety that they comprise. The shining lens of love stands at the height of the world, in the world of divinity, in a place where there are no contradictions, borders and oppositions--only satisfaction, goodness, and infinite breadth. The offspring of that shining lens of love is eternal love. When eternal love draws sustenance from the shining lens of love, it attains a great deal of its nature. In its descent, it cannot bear any stinginess or jealousy. When it is forced to constrict itself, it constricts love with love; it limits goodness with goodness. When those who are suffused with love see the world, and in particular, when they see living beings involved in bickering, hatred, persecution and quarreling, they immediately yearn that they and their lives may be partners with desires that bring about the joining together of life and its unity, perfection and tranquility. They feel and know that the closeness of God for which they yearn with the fullness of their soul only functions to bring them to a unification with inclusiveness and for the sake of that inclusiveness. When they come to the strata of mankind and find factions of nations, religions, sects and opposing ideals, they strive with all their strength to encompass all of it, to connect and to unify. With the healthy spiritual sense of their pure soul, which rises and flies
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to the Godly heights above all constrictions, they recognize that all details must be full, that the best societal forms must be elevated and must enter with all the satisfaction of their details into the light of a perfected life. They desire that every detail will be guarded and elevated, and the complete entirety united and filled with peace. When they come to their own nation, their heart is connected with all the depth of their life with the nation's happiness, endurance and elevation. Yet still, they find it divided and split, divided into various parties. They cannot effect a complete unity within any particular party. Rather, they desire to unite with the entire nation, totally and entirely, in all its fullness and goodness. Orot Hakodesh II, pp. 242-43 Finding Oneself Each individual finds himself within himself. Then he finds himself within his surroundings: His friends, community and people. The community finds itself within itself. Then it finds itself within all humanity. Humanity finds itself within itself--at least, at first. Then it finds itself within the world. The world finds itself within itself. Then it finds itself within all the worlds surrounding it. The entirety of universal encompassing finds itself within itself. Then it finds itself within the all-inclusive, supernal classification of all concepts of universe. The concept of universe finds itself within itself.
Then it finds itself within the full treasury, the supernal light, the multitude of life as well as the source of its days, and in the divine illumination. All of these recognitions fuse together. They become one unit, whose inclusiveness is infinitely glorious, whose particular nature is strong, flawless, whole and outstanding-Endless and perpetual. The flow of life flows ever more strongly And the light of holiness grows ever more strongly. "The singers and flute-players [proclaim] together: All of my wellsprings are within you, [Zion]!" (Psalms 87:7). Orot Hakodesh II, p. 447 The Superficial and the Profound There are two ways of looking at the world: the viewpoint of unity and the viewpoint of separation. The viewpoint of unity looks at the entire vista of individuals separated from each other as no more than an error of the senses and a lack of illumination. But the truth of reality is simply one great unity. The many, variegated beings are merely particular expressions--different limbs, various colors and hues--of that one, unified uniqueness. In this viewpoint of unity, you look upon the whole. Then, automatically, an accounting of goodness emerges. Everything together is certainly good--with an ultimate goodness--much better because of the revelation of its evil parts than if those limbs, those means of expression, had been lacking. To the degree that this unifying recognition grows deeper and stronger, so is its truth revealed in its penetration to the depths, in its rule over life. All feelings proceed in accordance with the nature of that
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unifying recognition. Everything is felt with the feeling of goodness. Then goodness grows stronger--goodness upon goodness. Joy rises above joy; life more glorious upon life. The more that this unifying view strikes deep roots, the more does it bring actualized goodness into the world: life and peace. Opposing this supernal viewpoint is the separating viewpoint, which sees a variegated reality as the true vision, and claims the foreignness of all details to each other as a true recognition. The senses and every superficial awareness aid in this. In accordance with this, life grows progressively more corporeal. The greater its effects, so do darkness and evil increase. There is no end to the depth of war between these two points of view: the superficial and the profound. But all the avenues of cause in the world proceed to one point, bringing into actuality the rule of the unified viewpoint in all worlds, subjugating the viewpoint of separation to itself. *** The faith in divine unity is the soul, carrying within itself all the treasure of life, all the inner possessions in which the treasure of all the worlds is stored. *** Political leaders and all communal leaders are rooted in the foundation of the viewpoint of separation, in the power of illusion that displays reality in its divided state. The world is not yet fit for a leadership from the viewpoint of unity, in its purity. *** The quality of light of the Messiah, the place of the throne of God in the world--"this is his name that he will be called: The Lord-is-our-Righteous-One (Jeremiah 23:6)"--is built upon the
foundation of the viewpoint of actual unity, growing so strong that it penetrates all particulars and all causes. *** It is necessary that the viewpoint of unity be hidden. Because of all the unity in existence, because everything is in truth complete goodness from the aspect of its unity, that goodness of constant elevation is not nullified. That constant elevation is marked by the refinement of every particular matter and its elevation. However, when this illumination of delight is revealed, the pressure and refinement that raise each particular and return every evil to goodness do not grow sufficiently strong. Therefore, it is the hidden nature of the united light that sends forth the inner uniqueness, the essential nature of the unifying light, to the depths of separation. These are the birth pangs and torments that cause the supernal light to be revealed. The sparks of holiness scattered in the depths of darkness join together, one by one, because of the descent of the supernal, unified light into the depths of hiddenness of the viewpoint of separation. *** This miracle of the revelation of light of the life of unity in the individual and in the world, with the processes of its ethical nature and its deepest longings--which envelop and permeate everything--is alive. It is alive within Israel. "His people Israel lives and exists forever." "The name of the Lord, God of the world is called upon him." "In the light of His countenance does he walk." "The Lord his God is with him, and the friendship of the king with him." Orot Hakodesh II, pp. 456-58 The Inclusive Path of God
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A person who is connected with love to the totality of existence, desiring its rectification and goodness, is also connected to the wicked and wrongdoers within it. This creates the possibility of damaging the holiness of his pure soul, which desires only holiness and true goodness. Still, the spirit of the tzaddik, who loves all of existence, grows so strongly with love of all creatures, love of humanity, and, in particular, the love of Israel, that nothing repels him--not even the fear that he himself will become spiritually flawed. At last, he refines himself so much that he connects himself to the essence of goodness of all existence--everything. In truth, all existence is always good: "Hashem is good to all." By means of this love, he rises even higher. And by means of that spiritual elevation, all of existence rises, until even the evil particulars of the entirety become progressively perfected. They do so by means of the connection of the spirit of the tzaddik--who truly loves everything--with them. A person whose way of service this is must refine himself a great deal. He must be quick and careful so that his actions, thoughts and all his feelings are really given over to the good of all existence. This is really what we can understand of the description of the will of God. Then, his spiritual thought unites with the oneness of existence, and "evil shall not come upon it." However, it may be that someone comes to connect himself to the love of all, but his spirit is dark within him with his own personal motives. Even though he also contains pure sparks of the
love of all, his own soul is not properly centered and united. This means that his connection with all existence is not solid. It is possible that his connection is directed to the degraded and evil aspect of all existence. The goodness and chosen in the totality of existence will grow far from connecting with his soul. Then, this connection is truly flawed. That is why we find a natural sense in many people, people who fear God and learn Torah, of only wanting to connect with the love of good people and with the chosen nation. In truth, this is a fine path for all those who have not properly refined themselves. But this is not the path of God that is fit for those whose souls are perfected, for those who have the power to refine themselves and their motives. Such people are obligated, in addition to the special love for the chosen people, to love all existence and to hope for its complete salvation, for the salvation of all particulars of the all with no division whatsoever. If such people find in themselves any descent or spiritual eclipse resulting from their connection to the totality of existence because of its degraded parts, they do not turn back from the inclusive path of God that is fit for them. Instead, they hurry to acquire the proper refinement, so that they will be able to be connected to all of existence, from the aspect of the essence of the goodness of Hashem--the true goodness, which rests in Him. Then their exalted love will not damage them or cause them to descend. It will allow them to ascend, and it will give them additional purity, strength and holiness. Orot Hakodesh III, pp. 319-20
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A Union of Strength and Beauty A person stands and wonders: What need is there for the profusion of such a variety of creatures? And he fails to understand how they all constitute one great entity. The slumbering life that exists within inanimate matter marks the beginning of a lightning flash that shines continuously within the vegetative world, splitting into tens of thousands of rays, each unique and individual. These arrive at the sanctuary of life, and there they sparkle joyously; they rise to the height of the crown of the universe's creatures: man. The entirety of the quality of man's life, its streaming illuminations, the constant rising of his spirit--these are merely great ocean waves flowing back and forth, impelled by all the movements of life within existence: from the smallest particle of life to the greatest, from inanimate matter to human being. If you are astonished at how it is that you are able to speak, hear, smell, feel, see, understand and have emotions, consider that all of life, and all that precedes it, causes all of your existence to flow upon you. Not even the smallest point is superfluous. Everything is necessary; everything serves its purpose. You [exist] in all that is below you, and you are tied to and rise with all that is higher than you. Animals, who do not have great intellectual expression, possess an earthy, strong drive. [This drive is] somewhat weakened by its freshness and strength of existence, which is caused by the pressure of its activity. [That in turn is] due to the ideal core of will that has entered into [that drive]. [The animal] draws its complete strength from its connection with the vegetative world, which does not have even that slight disturbance of the revelation of life. In turn, vegetation, with all its healthy, unwavering [life force], suffers from [its possession of] movement and a limited
imaginative faculty. It is healed from its weakness by being connected to the inanimate world, which has a spirit of permanence and constant, solid strength. The peak of life arises within man. [But it] is very much weakened by the freedom that characterizes [his] will. [In turn,] it attains its strength by being connected to the more corporeal world of life. The various strata of mankind are linked by this law as well. The ideal side [of man] stands ready to collapse from the weakness that resides within refinement. But it attains a [firm] stance by being based on the tangible aspect of reality. And thus, all creatures in the world constitute one entity. Nations and parties, people of different opinions and temperament, together build a world that is full: filled with a union of strength and beauty. Orot Hakodesh II, p. 361 The Value of Equality The value of equality is much higher and lasting than that of separation. As a result of recognizing the preciousness of equality, all the encrustations that separate nation from nation to the point of war and inherited hatred will break apart. The particular gifts of each nation will become clear. They will learn how to live at each others' side, in a manner that perfects everything, each receiving from and giving to the other. Orot Hakodesh Loving the Wicked Supernal holiness is filled with love, kindness and patience, because it is so suffused with perfection. Hatred, judgementalism and severity are the consequences of forgetting God and the oppression of the light of holiness. The stronger the search for God grows in your heart, so
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does the love of all grow broad in your heart. Finally, you love even the wicked and the deniers of God and desire their improvement, because you actually improve them with the greatness of your faith. It is true that in a revealed way, it is not within human ability to show love to anyone except those in whom we find some good point. Then we can attach our love to that aspect of good in them. In that way, we will not be harmed by the aspect of evil and ugliness in these people, people whom we love because we have the good quality of loving others. That good quality comprises being good and helpful to those who are bad and those who are good. Orot Hakodesh, p. 317 The Thought of Unity If you feel that the thought of unity is close to your spirit, if the image of the connectedness of all universes--in all aspects-exercises your imagination and understanding, then the root of who you are rests amidst the great ones of the world, the essence of whose spiritual work is the overall connection of all being and a true peace amidst worlds. Do not recoil from this great thought, but lift your heart in the ways of God. It may at times appear to you that you are seeking veneration and homage; still, see to it that, to whatever extent possible, you purify your thought solely for God's sake: to realize His will through your service, to reveal the light of His oneness in all worlds. Then automatically a spirit will pour upon you from the height; and your actions and traits will be purified with an ultimate purification. Arpelei Torah, p. 8 Universal Humanity
[Every day of Succos, sacrifices were brought in the Temple on behalf of the nations of the world. When this is described in the Chumash, the description of the fourth day=s sacrifices is unusual in that it lacks the letter Avav@ (Aand@) as a prefix to the word Atheir gift-offering.@] The fourth day corresponds to the fourth sefirah, called netzach, which means Avictory.@ The power of netzach does not allow the accusatory forces to maintain their existence. Instead, they are decimated and uprooted (Shaarei Tzedek). Only as long as the rectification of the world requires the existence of separate, individual nations are the nations of the world protected. This, however, is not forever, not for eternity. Therefore, their connection to Anetzach@ is cut off. Only in regard to Israel does the verse state that Awhen there will be a new heaven...your seed and your name shall continue to exist.@ The letter Avav@ is the letter of life. [Vav is in the shape of] a line. It draws out the yod, [which is in the shape of a dot. The yod] represents supernal wisdom, which Agives life to whoever has it.@ The letter Avav,@ [the letter that draws down life,] is missing on the fourth day (cf. Aderes Eliyahu, Emor, regarding the vav of the yod; and Shimuni, Vayera, quoting Sefer Hatemunah). (Similarly, the lights created during the first seven days are also written without a Avav@--instead of Am=orot,@ Am=arat@--plague. And this indicates that Awithout the >vav,= there is death in the world@ [Zohar, Bereishis 33b].) The other nations [as individual nations] cling to the sacrifices of the dead. [Thus,] they have a portion in temporal life only, not in eternal life. Therefore, [eternal life] cannot enter their sacrifices on the fourth day, which corresponds to netzach, eternity. From the aspect of eternity, the flow that comes to them destroys them as individual nations, so that they return to the level of universal humanity. Olat Rayah, pp. 298-99
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Rabbi Charlop quoted Rabbi Kook as saying: If I wanted, I would attract certain circles to me, who would be my followers, involved in spreading my teachings and thoughts. But I do not want this, narrow groups. I want to be connected to everyone. I do not want to be separated from anyone. Moadei Harayah, p. 170
LOVE OF ISRAEL
My Nation Is Faint My nation is faint, Her body is weak. Her spirit drifts Like a reed in the water. But within her, her soul Is as mighty as heaven. She knows her worth And the value of her life. She mocks her oppressors. Even when she grovels, She knows that her strength Will last forever. She knows that her enemies= might Is a passing shadow. She is as mighty as a lioness When her heart grows hot, Stalwart as a lioness Fighting for her cubs. Orot Harayah p. 55 Baseless Love There is no such thing as "baseless love." Why baseless? This other person is a Jew, and I am obligated to honor him. There is only "baseless hatred"--but "baseless love"? No! Malachim Kivnei Adam, p. 484 The Dew of Lovingkindness
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Love for the Jewish people and the work of defending the entire people and every individual is not just an emotional accomplishment. It is an important area of the Torah. It is a deep and broad wisdom with many branches, which blossom and draw sustenance from the rich dew of the light of the teaching of lovingkindness. Malachim Kivnei Adam, p. 483 The Entirety of Israel It is proper to yearn to be connected to the entirety of all Israel. The more you purify your thoughts and deeds, the more can you connect to the highest and smallest levels of the entirety. If there is smallness and preponderance of judgements [within you], the connection will be less inclusive. [And then,] if there is a lesser amount of connection with the most degraded level, there will be a lesser amount of connection with the greatest of levels. This is because complete perfection is connection with the whole entirety--whatever the manner and measure. Arpelei Torah, p. 47 The Entirety of Israel It is proper to yearn to be connected to the entirety of all Israel. The more you purify your thoughts and deeds, the more can you connect to the highest and smallest levels of the entirety. If there is smallness and preponderance of judgements [within you], the connection will be less inclusive. [And then,] if there is a lesser amount of connection with the most degraded level, there will be a lesser amount of connection with the greatest of levels.
This is because complete perfection is connection with the whole entirety--whatever the manner and measure. Arpelei Torah, p. 47 The Compassionate Mother How should the Jewish people be guided? Wildness has grown rampant, and the banner of lawlessness has been raised with an outstretched hand. Perhaps the nation should be split, so that the good and kosher people, those who bear the banner of God's name, should not associate with sinners who have cast off the yoke. Or perhaps the value of general peace should be the deciding factor. The cause of this disagreement is a universal state of degradation. The character of the nation, from the aspect of the superficial aspect of its spirit, has not yet been completely purified. These points of view are like the argument of the two prostitutes who came to Solomon, each claiming a new-born baby as her own. Solomon commanded: "Bring a sword." That command is a test from God's wisdom for the kingdom of Israel. The woman dismissed is the one who demands, "Divide the child in two!" Her bitterness exposes the true resentment in her heart. Her only thought is: "Neither you nor I will have it." The compassionate mother, the true mother, says, "Give her the living child. Surely do not kill him!" And God's holy spirit cries out: "Give that one the living child, for she is his mother!" There is no end to the evils, physical and spiritual, that would devolve from the division of the nation. Such a total separation, desired by those who would cruelly tear it in half, is impossible, and never will occur. It is literally an idolatrous idea that will never come about: "You say: Let us be like the nations,
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like the families of the earth, serving wood and stone. By My life, says the Lord God, with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm, with poured forth wrath shall I rule over you!" (Ezekiel 20). Like any thought of idolatry, this idea is destructive and dismaying, even when it has not come about in actuality. The stance of the righteous in every generation is supported even by the wicked. As long as they, despite their wickedness, cling in their hearts to all the nation, then "your people are entirely righteous" (Isaiah 60). Their superficial wickedness strengthens the righteous, like the lees in wine (Zohar Naso 128). But attempted division burrows under the foundation of all holiness, like the work of Amalek, who cut off the weak, those who had been ejected by the cloud of glory. "He sent his hand against God's perfect ones. He desecrated His covenant" (Psalms 55). Orot Hatichiyah, 20 Thoughts on Jewish Nationalism I. The national, active disposition of the people of Israel comprises the outer garment to its spiritual disposition. The spiritual disposition is the light and soul of the active disposition. Together, they emerge from the same source: the living God. They flow from the well of Godly truth and faith. During all the days of exile, the vessel was completely shattered. Light in its abstract form, its awesome face turned only upwards, served the nation only as a general concern as to how to take hold of the pure, spiritual nationalism. That divine light is the root soul of our nation. In its exiled state, no longer in the vessels of action that had once contained it, it shone with an increase of light for the people of Israel. God's Presence descended with Israel into exile. It dwelled within them and wandered wherever they wandered. The soul did not expand its desires. Rather, it fixed them within the concepts of fear of God, faith in God, care in the Torah
and mitzvot for the one reason that they are the command of God. We were then "like a bird wandering from its nest." II. According to the degree that each individual rises and that his individual nature is purified, so does he give the character of the nation its most exalted status. Because of that individual, the nation has added to it a crown of beauty. It becomes entirely worthy of love and of being clung to in grace. And so, the spiritual aspect of the strengthening of nationalism depends on the specific purification of every individual. III. One of the differences between Jewish and non-Jewish nationalism is the following. In every other nation, the basis of nationalism and its emotional element shares its national psychology with the natural psychological drive in every individual. That natural psychological drive precedes the nature of growth and accompanies with it--but without any particular maturation. This is not the case with Jewish nationalism. Jewish nationalism is based on a great and profound moral imperative. Moral character needs constant maturation. It does not grow naturally by itself. When we study the Torah from the national aspect (which is found explicitly in many mitzvot, and which is found in a hidden manner in all the mitzvot), we see that keeping the mitzvos is the nurturing foundation that strengthens the power of life of Jewish nationalism. Hidden within that foundation is the same material that nurtures morality. That material is necessary to establish the general, national drive in its proper place. Orot Twigs of a Tree of Life The entire world of consciousness, and all that devolves
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from it, to the lowest of all levels--all of which levels comprise the entirety of existence--are shifting from times of silence to times of speech. When the situation is one of preparation to receive the supernal outpouring, all is silent and still. And when the situation comes to the measure that those who receive pour forth to them who is lower than they, then speech begins. In regard to human beings, the situation is also in flux. When the preparation of one's consciousness is directed to clarifying the qualities that are lower than where one stands, then a constricted consciousness rules, and the practical ability carries out its activity. But when the supernal attention grows in strength, then the particularized consciousness cannot carry out its activity, and silence begins to rule. When a person comes to this measure, the normal activity of consciousness--whether in secular or in holy matters--is below his level. He finds within himself constantly great forces of opposition regarding all activity of consciousness that is rational and ordered. He must prepare himself for the measure of silence-paying attention to the voice from the heights that brings blessing, good will, and a voluntary spirit. The word of God will come to him, and day to day will express speech. Be glad to consider yourself a mere scrap of the entirety of the people of Israel, the inheritance of God. May all the thoughts of your heart, your ideas, your desire, your idealism, your faith, your conception, be nothing else than one hidden desire to be totally absorbed in that wealth of life: the people of Israel. Recognize within that we are twigs of a tree of life whose branches are many, whose fruits are exalted. Recognize within that the more we are enveloped in the body of that tree, the more do we live a fresh and perfect life--in the now and in the eternal. That recognition will complete the revival of our people. Only that recognition will awaken that end for which we so ardently yearn, giving us the safety of salvation.
There are individuals called by God, the pious of the generation, supernally holy. They must not gaze at any flaw, at any negative aspect of any Jew who clings, in whatever fashion, to the Rock from which he was hewn. They must rather elevate the universal point in each individual soul to its great height, to its exalted holiness. Unbounded love for the nation, the mother of our life, cannot be reduced by any reasoning or stumblingblock that might exist. "He has not gazed upon sin in Jacob, nor has he seen wearisomeness in Israel. The Lord His God is with him; the friendship of the King is with him." Let us rise above all hostile thoughts of superficial understanding, which, expressed in rebuke and pronouncements, arouse anger and brotherly hate. Let us be filled with good will, suffused in the dew of mighty mercy, let us embrace with loving arms and bring to the house of Jacob every soul that wishes to see our this-worldly joy and to rejoice together in our inheritance. From the midst of faithful love, from the midst of those whisperings of glory so deeply experienced in the warmth of our spirit and soul, we come to announce the return to Torah and commandment, to holiness and faith, to the inheritance of the forefathers and the tradition of the founders, to the light of the Lord, the God of Israel, Who rests upon His people and His land forever, in the glory of His might. Let us remove all grumbling, let us rise above smallness of mind and of heart, let us rise beyond hatred and resentment. Let us absorb the fresh love from its source in Eden, let us connect the branches of mercy to the roots of mindfulness, the glory of freedom to respect for elders, the respect for parents and teachers of an ancient nation, exalted and strong. To this powerful rebirth are we called. Let us come forth: to the
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beloved land of our fathers, the land of our life, which will prepare us for this great ascent. And our God, forever and ever, shall lead us beyond death. Orot Hatechiyah, 24 Judgement Whose Goodness Is Intense The mystical teachings tell us that [the energy of] every good deed that an evil person performs goes to a place of evil and pollution. The Holy One, blessed be He, does not deny this person his reward. He pays him in this world for his slightest good deed. This is the portion of the wicked. To an even greater extent, [God is exacting with the righteous]. "In the land [of this world] shall he be paid" (Proverbs 11:31). "Those who surround Him are in a tempest" (Psalms 50:3). All this proceeds from a judgement whose goodness is intense, whose purpose is that the light of holiness and goodness will grow stronger and increase. In regard to entire nations, every good deed carried out by an evil nation strengthens the universal evil. "The mercy of nations is a sin" (Proverbs 14:34) [because they act solely out of selfinterest (Bava Basra 10b)]. The nation of Israel, on the other hand, is "a righteous nation, keeping good faith" (Is. 26:2). And the Holy One is exacting with those who surround Him. This is true of the entire nation of Israel: "Only you have I known from all the families of the earth; therefore, I will visit upon you all your sins" (Amos 3:2). When the greater part of a source is good, this indicates that really in its inner being it is entirely good. Every sin that comes from such a source actually contains in the wealth of its inner being great light and vast salvation. When Yosef's brothers sinned and sold him into slavery, the entire world was sustained, [for Yosef distributed food when "there was a famine in all the lands"].
And [the sages instituted a prayer,] "Even when the [Jews] transgress, may their needs come before You" (Ber. 28b). However, the goodness and constructiveness that come from sin must be intensely purified--to such a degree that it will rise to perfect all creation. This purification consists of sufferings, which scrub away sin (Ber. 5). Such sufferings purify those sins that come from the depth of goodness. They cleanse these sins of ugliness that comes from superficiality. They return these sins to their inner foundation--which is a life of truth and holiness. No actions of the righteous ever go astray--even "his leaf does not wither, and all that he does succeeds" (Ps. 1:3). Even the most infinitesimal sin must be purified, in order to contribute to that universal, supernal state of activity to which every movement of one's holy soul is directed. "The Lord knows the way of the righteous" (Ps. 1:6). The Lord alone knows, on a level that no created being can conceive of. Every return to God motivated by love arrives at that inner source where everything created is good, a retroactive structure of wholeness and honesty. Sins are transformed to merits without the necessity for a new creation. Rather, these sins merely reveal their original state of being. In a similar fashion, the new heavens and earth that the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring about in the days of the messiah will not be new. Even they already exist, [having been "created during the six days of creation" (Ber. Rabbah 1:18)]. "The new heavens and new earth that I [will] make are standing" (Is. 66:22)--they are standing now. Orot Hateshuvah The Shofar and the Workers by Rabbi Ch. D. Ermon-Kastenbaum A group of young Jewish construction workers who were
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pressed for time to complete a building in a Jerusalem neighborhood continued working on Rosh Hashanah. When the neighbors grew aware of this, they immediately sent someone to inform Rav Kook. A short while later, Rav Kook's representative appeared on the site carrying a shofar. He approached the workers, who were astonished to see this religious man. After wishing the workers a good year, he told them that Rav Kook had sent him to blow the shofar for them. He politely asked them to interrupt their work and pay attention, and immediately recited the blessing and began to blow the shofar. This statement of Rav Kook and the shofar blowing had their intended effect. Every shofar blast touched the hearts and awoke the Jewish core in these young workers. They put down their tools and gathered about the shofar-blower, some with tears in their eyes. In that skeletal, unfinished building echoed the ancient call of the shofar, reminding them of their father's house, their grandfather's visage, their town and synagogue; reminded them of a world of Jews standing in prayer. And they were inundated by questions: What has happened to us? Where are we, where have we gotten to? And they stood in confusion and reflection. When the shofar blowing was completed, there was no need for words. Everyone decided to stop work. Some asked Rav Kook's representative if they could accompany him. They quickly changed their clothes and walked together with him to Rav Kook's beis medrash. Moadei Harayah, p. 65 The Complete Saints by Raziel Mamet [The following is an episode that took place when the leading rabbis of the land of Israel toured the new, non-religious communities, on an teshuvah, or outreach, program.] In the Jewish settlements in the Galilee, the delegation
members met with a phenomenon that Rav Kook had spoken about even before he had decided to make aliyah to the land of Israel: the open hatred expressed towards Judaism. In one of the settlements, the workers tried to belittle the delegation of rabbis. They led the delegation to a group of tents and said, AIn this tent, a young man and woman live together. And in that tent as well and in that tent as well. In fact, in all these tents, men and women live together.@ Rabbi Sonnenfeld, who understood well the import of these words, frowned in anger. Rav Kook turned to the speaker with gentleness. ASo what is new about that? All over the world, a young man lives with a young woman. Would you prefer that a man should live with a man, heaven forbid?@ AYou don=t seem to understand, rabbi. Here men and women live together without getting married.@ AAnd what happens?@ The workers raised their eyebrows in surprise. AWhat do you mean, what happens?@ their spokesman replied. ANothing happens. What do you expect would happen?@ [Translator=s note: The early socialistic, communistic kibbutzim were radically genderless--but, unlike the situation today, some were also radically anti-sexual--sexuality being personal and thus selfishly non-universal--and so men and women would live together as sexless comrades.] AIf that is the case,@ concluded Rav Kook, Aif that is so, you are all complete saints.@ AHow is that?@ came a outcry of surprise from the workers. AWe--complete saints?@ ACertainly,@ said Rav Kook. AYou yourselves say that a young couple lives in every tent and still, nothing happens. You are all complete saints, since I am not convinced that if I and my fellow rabbis would be living like you in tents, that nothing would happen. I do not know if we would be able to withstand the test. [Translator=s note: Recall the story of Abaye in the Gemara, who
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followed the young couple to make sure that nothing unseemly occurred.] But you withstand the test--not for an hour or a day, but for many days. And so, as I said, you are complete saints, complete saints.@ That night, the workers sat with the rabbis, learned Torah and agreed to take on certain standards in kashrus and keeping Shabbos. Late at night, while Rav Kook=s fellows sat and prayed the AMidnight Lament,@ he wrote in his journal: AOne of the greatest innovations that must be carried out in the communes and new settlements that have been recently established is to spread the Torah of Israel with respect and patience. This populace, these young workers and pioneers, must be approached in a unique manner--not with conventional words. The conventional cannot influence them--only a new way, a revolutionary approach. We must show them the light in the Torah. This is a generation that is ready, that can be influenced by new thoughts and intellectual freshness. Old, wrinkled words no longer draw their heart--and with good reason.@ And he then wrote in the margin in small letters, as though seeking to hide his opinion: AI feel like a man who is called to raise the banner, like a man who must unite the good and the healthy in both communities: the Old and the New. I am like a poor person sitting at the crossroads, in the shadows?? between these two holy communities, and New and the Old. These two communities are connected by a bond that cannot be severed, just as the soul is connected to the body, and together they comprise the person who lives, breathes, acts, and creates. The Old Community in the beauty of its holiness and the glory of its aristocratic old age shines a wealth of beautiful rays upon all of the New Community. And the New Community in its dewy youthfulness, in the wildness of its youth, in the dwellings of its adolescence, stands ready to electrify the heart and strengthen the hands of the Old Community, which has already been uplifted towards the heights of holiness for hundreds of years. Their mixing together will bring about the
renewal of Israel.@ Lechishah Ro=emet The Rabbi in the Guard=s Uniform by Raziel Mamet The rabbis= campaign continued and approached its end. On Rosh Chodesh Kislev, towards evening, the delegation of rabbis went to Moshavah Puriah. Forty workers greeted them, most of them young men and women who had immigrated from the United States. On their way from Moshavah Yavneel, Rabbi Sonnenfeld had described to his fellow rabbis the situation in the settlement to which they were going: AI know that the young people there eat unkosher food that they prepare in their central kitchen. Also, they desecrate the Sabbath publicly. They do all their housework then, as though Shabbos did not even exist.@ When the delegation entered the settlement, shots were suddenly heard. A few workers rushed to where the shots had come from, and returned a short while later with a young Arab. AWhat did he do?@ asked the rabbis. AHe tried to steal sheep from our flock. The guards found him, shot in the air and caught him.@ The thief was taken to one of the rooms, where he was given food and drink. AWhat do you plan to do with him?@ asked Rabbi Sonnenfeld. AWe=ll keep him here tonight, and tomorrow morning we=ll bring him to the police.@ AYou see,@ said Rav Kook to Rav Sonnenfeld heatedly, Ayou see that they are just and reasonable. Is the spirit of God not in them? Do they not sanctify the name of heaven in public? See how careful they are about the laws of society and the moral laws between people.@ ATrue, true,@ murmured the Jerusalem rabbi, Abut what about the commandments between man and God?@
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APatience, Rabbi Chaim, patience.@ After the evening prayers, the rabbis agreed to eat on the settlement, but in no way would they agree to eat in the unkosher dining room. And so instead they sat by themselves in their room, eating bread, salted fish and sweetened tea. From the large dining room, in which the workers were siting and eating, the sound of a lively song broke out. Rav Kook said, AWe must go into them. It is not possible for us to sit here while they sit there, like two camps.@ ACertainly,@ his colleagues agreed. AThat is why we have come here.@ The rabbis rose and went to the dining room. When the young workers saw them, they sang even louder. Rav Kook raised his hand, and quiet fell over the dining room. AThe time has come to make an end of the strange situation of distance and separation,@ said Rav Kook, his eyes burning with feeling. ADear brothers! Please come closer to us, for the time has come for a coming close of hearts between the Old Community and the New Community. They have been distanced from each other long enough. They have hated each other long enough. Look at us, the representatives of the Old Community. We stand before you in our kapotes, in our shtreimels, with side locks and beards. We have come a long way to be with you. We, the members of the Old Community, have come to you, to embrace you with loving arms. But, please, dear brothers, you too must take a step toward us. You must also come close to us and keep the basics of Judaism, those things that our nation kept throughout all its exiles. Listen to us and bring much goodness to the people of Israel and to the land of Israel, upon which God gazes from the beginning of the year until the end of the year.@ The workers responded with enthusiastic applause. Rav Kook again quieted them: AIf our forefathers had stopped keeping the Sabbath, kashrus and the other commandments of the Torah a thousand years ago, would the Jews have had a revival? Would you have
made aliyah to the land of Israel? No, the Jews would have been assimilated and disappeared, heaven forbid, amidst the nations. Only in the merit of our forefathers who kept the Torah could their children=s children--you--rise and carry out the wondrous acts that you are accomplishing today. APlease, you young people, learn from all the good that is hidden in the world of the Jewish elders, and then the elders will learn from all the good and the energy hidden in your young world. And together we will place the crown back on its place, and we will build the land of Israel.@ His words inflamed the young people, and they again applauded. AAnd now, Jews, let us dance a dance of teshuvah. And I am positive that whoever joins this circle dance will not leave this world without a full and total teshuvah.@ Even as he spoke, Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld left the group, closed his eyes and began to dance, as he sang in his sweet voice: APurify our hearts to serve You, to serve You, to serve You, to serve You in truth.@ Rav Kook hastened to Rav Sonnenfeld, took his arm, and with closed eyes and concentrated feeling joined the dance. At this, as though it were a sign, everyone else, workers and rabbis, began to dance and sing a mighty, captivating song. The dancing continued for a while. Then Rav Kook took his arm from the hand of Rav Sonnenfeld and slipped outside. Before anyone could notice that Rav Kook had left the circle of dancers, he came back dressed in a guard=s outfit, with a kafiyeh and ekal on his head and a rifle in his hand. Quickly, he entered middle of the circle and began to dance by himself. Everyone else stopped dancing and gazed in wonder at Rav Kook, as they encouraged him with rhythmic clapping. Rav Kook sang with closed eyes, ABy means of this, may great influence come, great influence, into all the worlds.@ And while he continued to dance, he turned to the people and said: ARabbi Aharon the Great of Karlin used to say that the value of
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dance is that when a person dances and jumps up, he is automatically elevated, if only a few inches above the ground. And when he is elevated above the ground, he sees things in a totally new light and from a different angle than he had seen while his two feet had been on the ground. Join the dance, brothers. From now on, let us see things differently. There is no old and no new. There is no hatred and no controversy. There are rabbis dressed like guards and there are guards who are fit to dress like rabbis.@ Toward morning, as the enthusiasm of the workers died down out of weariness, Rav Kook stood in the center of the circle and called out, AI am letting you know that I will not take off these guard=s clothes or put down the rifle until you promise me, all of you, as one person with one heart, to begin to honor the commandments of the Torah, to keep the Sabbath and kashrus.@ AWe shall try,@ the workers responded in a loud voice. Rav Kook trembled, and collapsed onto a chair that Rav Sonnenfeld hurriedly brought him. There was white foam around his lips and his entire body was covered in sweat. As Rav Yaakov Moshe Harlap bent over him worriedly, Rav Kook murmured, ABlessed be God Who has brought me to this.@ Lechishah Roemet Two Excerpts from Likutei Harayah Rabbi Aryeh Levin (subject of the biography, A Tzaddik in Our Time, used to say: "Love of Israel--this is not an abstract matter. One must make it real with one's actions, helping every Jew. It was possible to learn love of Israel from all the tzaddikim and gaonim that I knew--but that which I saw from Rav Kook was the greatest of all. He was prepared to give his life for the sake of every individual." And Rabbi Levin told: I recall during the pogroms in Hebron (the Arab murder of approximately sixty Jews in 1929, when the British police refused
to defend the Jews). The day of the great and terrible slaughter was on Shabbos, the eighteenth of Av. The next day, all telephone lines were cut off [in Jerusalem]. The [British] government only allowed Hadassah Hospital to receive telephone service. Terrible news came, but the heart refused to believe, for so great was the tragedy. I accompanied Rav Kook to Hadassah Hospital. Rav Kook was allowed to telephone Hebron, and he began to hear exactly what had occurred there. I recall those terrible moments with trembling. They are carved in my heart. I see it as though it occurred today: hearing the details, the number of killed and injured, Rav Kook fainted and fell to the ground. When he was revived, he burst into bitter weeping, tore his garment in mourning, sat on the floor and made the blessing, "Blessed be the true Judge." In those moments, I saw what extent love of Israel can reach. Rav Kook had received the tragic news like a father who hears that he lost a son, like a brother who is stunned by the death of his brothers and sisters. On Shabbos, the eighteenth of Av, Rav Kook contacted John Lock, the head secretary (who, since the highest British official was outside the country, was in charge) and demanded that he take strong measures against the rioting Arabs. "The Mandate government," said Rav Kook, "has accepted upon itself the responsibility for order and security of life in the land, and it must fulfill its responsibility." The chief secretary excused himself that it wasn't clear to him what should be done. Rav Kook replied, "You must give orders to shoot the murderers!" The chief secretary replied, "I don't have such orders from my superiors." "What?" replied Rav Kook sharply. "To save innocent citizens from the attacks of murders you need orders from your superiors? I give you the order. In the name of human conscience, I demand that you fulfill your obligation and defend the lives of the
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Jewish citizens in our land." Sometime later, Rav Kook was invited to a welcoming reception given at which John Lock was shaking the hands of all the guests. When he extended his hand to Rav Kook, Rav Kook didn't take it but replied in an emotional, forceful voice, "I am not prepared to shake the hand that is responsible for the spilling of blood!" Likutei Harayah, pp. 256-57 I Will Recall by Simchah Raz The Chief Rabbi of Haifa, Rabbi Shaar Yashuv Cohen (son of the Nazir, Rabbi Dovid Cohen), writes: AMy first memory in connection with Rav Kook has to do with the time of the pogroms in Jerusalem and Hebron in Menachem Av 5689 (1929), when I was, in the rabbinical phrase, >a child who needs his mother.= At that time, we lived in Jerusalem, in the area of Nachalat Achim and Shaarei Chesed. Out of fear of attack by the Arabs, the women and children were taken to a safe house in the center of the city. My father took me to the house of Rav Kook, which was in the center of Jerusalem, and there we stayed a few days. AThat was when the pogroms in Hebron, with the terrible slaughter of the yeshiva students, took place--may God avenge their blood. Of course, as a small child, I did not understand exactly what was happening. But this I do recall: Rav Kook was very kind to me and played with me on his knees. That Sabbath drew to an end, with the Third Meal, and then the Evening Prayer and Havdalah. As was my way--the way of a child--I tried to make my way to Rav Kook. But I was unable to. His face was aflame and his wonderful eyes were filled with tears. He paced back and forth in his room with quick, firm steps. A moan broke from his throat, and words broke out with a cry: >Harninu goyim amo, ki dam avadav yikom, venekem yashiv letzarav vikiper admato amo--
Let the tribes of His nation sing praise, for He will avenge His servants= blood. He will bring vengeance upon His foes, and reconcile His people [to] His land [trans.--Aryeh Kaplan].= He repeated this over and over as he strode, almost running, from wall to wall, without pause, as tears rolled onto his cheeks, for a very long time. All of us--my father, Rabbi Nathan Raanan (his son-inlaw) and others--stood there stunned by this outburst of aweinspiring emotion. AAfter a long while, Rav Kook=s righteous wife, ReizaRivka, entered and said apologetically: >Nu, melave malka, melave malka--the post-Sabbath meal.= Rav Kook stopped and left the room and accompanied her to the inner rooms of the house, and we no longer saw him. AOnly afterwards did what had been going on become clear. Rabbi Natan Raanan explained to me what had happened: AThe terrible news from Hebron had arrived at Hadassah Hospital that Sabbath. Rav Kook learned of it in shock and he did all he could to save lives. During the Sabbath, he refrained from showing his feelings openly, in order to guard the sanctity of the Sabbath. But immediately after the Sabbath was over, waves of burning emotion burst forth from his heart, including his wrath at the murderers and those of the British Mandate Government who had stood by idle, including John Lock, the government Secretary (whose hand Rav Kook afterwards refused to shake, saying that it was covered in blood), and the police chief of Hebron, Kaparta [?], who had been directly responsible for withholding protection from the Jews of Hebron. And it was regarding them that he had recited the verse, >Harninu goyim amo....= AThis awesome sight of the pained wailing of Rav Kook, who had always shone me a bright face, and whom I now saw with a blacked, suffering countenance, I will never forget.@ from Malachim Kivnei Adam And He Fell Back upon the Ground and Fainted by Simcha Raz
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The tzaddik, Rabbi Aryeh Levin, told: AThis will I recall with holy trembling: those moments that cause all the strands of my heart to quiver. This memory remains carved in my heart: how I accompanied Rav Kook on the nineteenth of Menachem Av 5689 (1929) to Hadassah Hospital to learn by telephone about the welfare of our brothers in Hebron. When he learned of the death of the supernal holy and pious ones, he fell back onto the ground and fainted. Afterwards, when he recovered, he wept bitterly and tore his clothes for the house of Israel and for the nation of God that had fallen by the sword. he rolled in the dust and said, >Blessed is the true Judge.= And for a period of time after that, his bread was the bread of tears and his drink was tears as well, and he did not put a pillow to his head. From that time forward, old age overtook him and he began to feel terrible sufferings, and this caused the illness from which he did not recover.@ Rabbi Betzalel Julti (at one time the rabbi of Jerusalem) recalled: AMy teacher and rabbi, Rabbi Yechezkel Sarna, had of the yeshiva in Hebron, once told me: >Come and see to what extent Rav Kook=s love of Israel reached. When the students of the Yeshiva of Hebron were tragically murdered in the Hebron pogroms, I was one of the yeshiva=s heads, and I knew the students well. When the bitter news reached me, I was literally stunned. My heart contracted in pain and it was too great to bear--but with all that, I did not faint. But when Rav Kook heard what had happened in Hebron, he fainted and fell to the ground. His pain was deeper than mine and his shock was greater.@ Malachim Kivnei Adam Messengers to Perform a Mitzvah by Simcha Raz Rachel Yaniat-Ben Tzvi told:
AI recall that terrible Sabbath when the terrible news about the slaughter in Hebron arrived. My husband, Yitzchak ben Tzvi (who was then the chairman of the National Committee) rushed to Rav Kook in order to approach the senior British authority to intervene and save lives. AThat was John Lock, who was living in the Mandate Government mansion next to Shechem Gate, which was surrounded by Arab rioters. And one could foresee danger to any Jew who would approach the place. Rav Kook burst out, ASaving Jews, saving lives, takes precedence over the Sabbath.@ And he told his shamash to summon a carriage from the street as he again murmured to himself, ASaving lives, saving lives.@ When Rav Kook=s elderly mother heard that he was ready to desecrate the Sabbath by traveling in a carriage, she was so shocked that she fainted. Rav Kook was stunned, and he said, AHonoring parents, honoring parents.@ He had the carriage sent away, and he left the house together with Yitzchak ben Tzvi by foot, and they both walked to the mansion at Shechem Gate. Malachim Kivnei Adam Saving a Life Takes Precedence by Simcha Raz Rabbi Avraham Ben Ze=ev tells: In 5689 (1929), at the time of the bloody events, I was approached by Rabbi Chaim Ternovsky, who was then one of the inhabitants of Emek Ha=arazim (next to Motza) with a request that I come with him to Rav Kook and propose that Rav Kook ask the British rulers to assign us British soldiers to accompany us to retrieve Torah scrolls that had survived the pogroms--one in Emek Ha=arazim and two in Motza. I agreed. We came to Rav Kook and found him in his small room speaking on the telephone with members of the British government. His face was wan. At the end of the conversation, he
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turned to us. AWhat do you want, good Jews?@ Rabbi Chaim told him our request. Rav Kook asked: AAre there also Jews who must be rescued from danger?@ ANo, there are no Jews there. But there is the danger that the Arabs will desecrate the holy Torah scrolls.@ AI am very sorry,@ Rav Kook said, Abut I cannot accede to your request. In these days, I am pressing the British government to save Jewish lives--who are, I am afraid, in danger--and the British do not agree easily. If I also approach them about this, it is possible that they will agree. But in turn, they might not help to save lives. And then I will be the cause of Jewish deaths, heaven forbid.@ And in a voice choked with sobs, Rav Kook continued, ABelieve me. My heart is saddened about Torah scrolls that might be desecrated by murderers. However, the saving of Jewish lives takes precedence over everything else. And may God do what is right in His eyes.@ Malachim Kivnei Adam
LAND OF ISRAEL
The Land of Israel The land of Israel is not some external entity. It is not merely an external acquisition for the Jewish people. It is not merely a means of uniting the populace. It is not merely a means of strengthening our physical existence. It is not even merely a means of strengthening our spiritual existence. Rather, the land of Israel has an intrinsic meaning. It is connected to the Jewish people with the knot of life. Its very being is suffused with extraordinary qualities. The extraordinary qualities of the land of Israel and the extraordinary qualities of the Jewish people are two halves of a whole. Eretz Cheifetz I Exile and Mediocrity We experience exile and mediocrity because we do not proclaim the value and wisdom of the land of Israel. We have not rectified the sin of the biblical spies who slandered the land. And so we must do the opposite of what they did: we must tell and proclaim to the entire world the land's glory and its beauty, its holiness and its honor. Then, after all these praises, let us hope that we have expressed at least one ten-thousandth of the loveliness of that lovely land: the beauty of the light of its Torah, the exalted nature of the light of its wisdom, and the holy spirit that seethes within it.
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Eretz Cheifetz The Letters of Our Soul
In the land of Israel, Grow the letters of our soul. There, They reveal illumination. They draw down mighty life From the blaze of life Of the Congregation of Israel. Eretz Cheifetz, p. 24 The Land of Israel The more difficult you find it to tolerate the atmosphere outside the Holy Land and the more you are aware of the unclean spirit of an unclean land, then the more have you intimately absorbed the holiness of the Land of Israel. Eretz Cheifetz (Orot, Eretz Yisroel 6) Lucid and Clear The imaginative faculty of the land of Israel is lucid and clear, clean and pure, and suitable for the appearance of divine truth... On the other hand, the imaginative faculty in the lands of the nations is turbid, mixed with darkness, in the shadows of impurity and corruption. Eretz Cheifetz (Orot, Eretz Yisroel, 5) Our Love for the Beloved Land We have a great obligation to awaken the ancient love of
Zion: a love that is eternal and burns in a flame of holy fire within the hearts of the Jewish people wherever they may be. We must fight with all our strength against any hatred of our holy land--which has begun to affect some of us. With a mighty arm of the spirit and with the eternal holiness of the beloved land, we must destroy the contamination of the spies, a contamination which began to spread at the very point of the possible redemption. "The word of our God will stand forever." The holiness of the land and its loveliness has never changed and will never change. All the bitter circumstances, physical and spiritual, which have affected the Holy Land will not overcome it. Just as no physical destruction can destroy our love for the beloved land, so can no spiritual desolation reduce our holy and profound love of that land of life. The deep connection between the soul of the Jew and Zion, with all that takes place there, stands firm forever. And the light of that love will increase seven-fold. It will enflame every heart and exalt every spirit, sanctifying and encouraging everyone. Moadei Harayah, pp. 419-20
The Wisdom of the Land of Israel Exile and degradation are drawn into the world because we do not proclaim the worth and wisdom of the land of Israel. We do not rectify the sin of the spies who slandered the land. Measure for measure, we must tell and proclaim, across the entire world, its splendor and magnificence, its holiness and glory. If we are worthy, after our most extravagant praises, we might express one ten-thousandths of the desirability of that desirable land, the magnificent light of its Torah, the glorious light of its wisdom, and the holy spirit effervescent within it.
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Eretz Cheifetz, p. 38 The Sense of Being a Stranger There is a sense of being a stranger that you may feel outside the land of Israel. That sense connects the entire inner desire of your spirit ever more strongly to the land of Israel and its holiness. Your hope to see it grows. The impression, the inner image, of the holy structure of that land upon which God always gazes grows increasingly deeper. There is a depth of holy yearning for beloved Zion, a recollection of that entirely desirable land. When that grows in even a single soul, the wellspring flows for everyone: for tens of thousands of souls connected to that soul. Eretz Cheifetz (quoting Orot), p. 48 A Powerful and Ancient Nation The basis of keeping all the commandments, from the aspect of their inner and ultimate being, can take place only in the land of Israel. Those commandments not specifically related to the land of Israel, which apply as well outside the land, are not intended to attain to their ultimate purpose outside the land. Rather, they bring the Jewish people to the land; they guard our holiness, so that when we return, we will not need to begin from nothing, like a young nation which only recently has come to the altar of life. They will ensure that our path in life--eternal and temporal--will be firm before us, as is proper for a powerful and ancient nation, whose sources are primal, from the beginning of the world. Eretz Cheifetz, p. 31 The Life of the Jewish Nation
The encompassing, spiritual, inner revelation in the depths of the Jewish soul sets before us the inner form of all of the practical Torah: a form that is ideal, and which contains all the practical Torah's details. The entire sweep of the oral Torah with its tributaries flowing as one is the life of the Jewish nation, as it flows from a supernal source, united as a solid element. From the impression left by this soulful revelation, we come to a more exalted uplifting. We increasingly rise, and the supernal levels of the holy spirit continue to be revealed. All this is in accordance with our diligence in learning Torah, performing good deeds and elevating our character, and the illumination that comes from clinging to God in a spirit of supernal consciousness. Orot Hatorah 11:1
The Source of Delight In the land of Israel, it is possible to draw the joy of holiness from the site of joy itself. Outside the land, however, it is impossible to draw down this joy, because of the opposition and wrath of the powers of judgement outside the land. We can draw down this joy only by drawing it from the source of delight, where neither obstacle nor damage reach. This is why, in consequence of the destruction of the temple, "joy" is halachically forbidden, but those things called "delight" are allowed. When we delight in love from the delights of the source of holiness, there descends a pure joy, enriched with delight, which draws the atmosphere of the land of Israel--to some degree--outside the land, to revive the spirit of those who hope for the mercies of God, who yearn to see it and to rejoice in its joy. "Recall me, Hashem, when you desire your nation, visit me
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with Your salvation...to rejoice in the joy of your nation, to take pride in Your inheritance" (Tehillim 106:4-5). Orot Hakodesh III, p. 187 The Unique Quality The unique quality of the land of Israel and the unique quality of the nation of Israel are complementary. The nation of Israel has the unique ability to come to a divine elevation in the depths of its life-force. Correspondingly, the land of Israel--which is the land of God--improves the Jewish nation that dwells upon it as its eternal inheritance, an inheritance sealed with a covenant, a vow and a promise. The Jewish people=s eternal nature is founded upon the divine nature permanent in the imprint of this wondrous desirable land, which is united with the people whom God has chosen as His special ones. Together, the soul of the people and the land bring to the fore the foundation of their being. They demand their goal: to bring their holy yearning to fruition. Eretz Cheifetz, p. 7 The Gold of That Land Was Good "'And the gold of that land was good'--this teaches that there is no Torah like the Torah of the land of Israel" (Bereishis Rabbah 16:7). In every generation, it is fitting to have great love for the Torah of the land of Israel. This is particularly true now. We must give our generation the life-giving medicine of the Torah of the land of Israel. We must show this generation the greatness of truth and clarity found within our Godly treasure, in the ideas and insights of the true Torah, in the beauty and exalted nature of its mitzvos, and in its overall view of life. This can be achieved only via the light of the Torah of the land of Israel, via its depth and breadth. Only that connects all one's awareness and ideas so that one can completely experience it and, more, transfer that
experience to others. All of this is possible only via the light of the Torah of the land of Israel. Our generation is ready. It must be influenced by ideas that have a fresh life and greatness. Shriveled, small matters can no longer capture its heart. Its communal nature has grown exceedingly. We must give everything to this generation in an inclusive fashion: a stream of the flow of life of the entire nation. This brings us to the essential difference between the Torah of the land of Israel and the Torah of chutz la'aretz (outside the land of Israel). Whatever is small and individual (whether in the general context of spiritual ideas or, more particularly, of those ideas that deal with the great breadth of Torah and faith) when viewed from the perspective of the Torah of chutz la'aretz becomes great and inclusive as soon as it draws to itself the atmosphere of the land of Israel. The Torah of chutz la'aretz is only aware of how to care for the individual, for his spiritual and physical completion, his temporal as well as eternal condition. But the Torah of the land of Israel is concerned with the totality, with the nation: with its soul and energy, its body and spirit, its total present, its total future, and the living imprint of its past--simultaneously. All details enter it and are subsumed in its exalted state. This is the inner renewal, deep and broad, of the Torah of the land of Israel. It declares that all individual thoughts and ideas proceeding in an impoverished and scattered state--the atmosphere of the land of other nations-must form one bundle, must clothe themselves in one general intent related to the life of the entire nation, under the influence of the land of Israel. Chevyon Oz, quoted in Moadei Harayah, pp. 157-8 Where are We Going? by Simcha Raz As a child, Avraham Yitzchak Kook thought up a unique game to amuse himself and his fellow cheder-pupils. During
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recess, the small children would line up in rows with their bags over their shoulders, as though they were about to go on a long journey. Little Avramele would lead them. They would ask each other: "Where are we going?," and he would reply: "To the land of Israel!" Malachim Kivnei Adam In Berlin The writer, Avraham Rivlin, tells: When Rav Kook was in Berlin, he stayed in our house on August Street. I was then a small child, but I remember that Rav Kook spent most of his time in a room that had been set aside for him in our house, and that many people came to visit him there. Afterwards, I heard from my father that the wealthy Jewish community in Berlin tried to persuade Rav Kook to move to a kosher, first-class hotel at the community's expense. But Rav Kook replied to the community leaders that he preferred to stay in the house of a Jew from the land of Israel. Likutei Harayah, p. 71
The Mountains of the Land of Israel by Haim Lifshitz Rav Yitzchak Hutner told: I once took a walk with Rav Kook and another man amidst the mountains of the land of Israel. Rav Kook told how impressed he was by the landscape. The other man asked him, "But you were in the Alps. What is so special about these mountains?" Rav Kook replied, "The Alps didn't speak to me."
Shivchei Harayah, p. 195 God Willing by Haim Lifshitz Someone once told Rav Kook, "God willing, we will move to the land of Israel." Rav Kook replied, "God is certainly willing. What counts is that you be willing." Shivchei Harayah, p. 208 The Dirt of the Holy Land by Simcha Raz Yigdal Gal-Ezer (a brother-in-law of the author) was a government official who used to visit Rav Kook at his home. On one of his visits, as Rav Kook was submerged in the study of a Talmudic passage, there was a hesitant knock at the door. The door opened slightly, and a short Yemenite, his hair and beard grizzled white, stepped into the room. He closed the door behind him and remained standing in the doorway, his face to the ground, as though he were afraid to look at Rav Kook. Rav Kook looked up and told the man in a pleasant tone, "Come closer, my son." Slowly, the man stepped toward Rav Kook's desk, his face still to the ground. "What is troubling you?" Rav Kook asked him. "Honored rabbi," the man said hesitantly, "I have come to ask an important question." "Please ask." "For twenty-five years," the man said, "I have worked hard, morning to evening, uprooting weeds from orchards, planting saplings, digging up rocks, and excavating to build houses. But after all that, I still barely make enough money to support my family. I would like to ask: Would I be allowed to leave the Holy
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Land and move to America? Perhaps I will be more fortunate there, and I will be able to support my family more honorably." For a few seconds, Rav Kook sat quietly, thinking. Then he stood up, pointed at his chair and told the man: "Sit!" The man began trembling, and stammered: "Honored rabbi, no one else may sit upon your chair!" But Rav Kook again commanded him: "Sit!" With small, hesitant steps, the man circled the desk and sat down on Rav Kook's chair, still trembling. And as soon as he sat down, his head drooped onto Rav Kook's desk and he fell asleep. A short while later, he awoke, seeming very moved. "What happened when you fell asleep?" Rav Kook asked him. The Yemenite Jew replied: "I dreamed that I was leaving this world. When my soul rose up to heaven, an angel at the gates of heaven directed me to the heavenly court. At the front of the court were the scales of justice. "Suddenly, horse-drawn carriages rode up, filled with all sorts of packages--small, medium-sized and large--and angels began to put them onto one side of the scale, which dipped down lower and lower, until it almost touched the floor. "I asked the angel who was standing at my side, 'What are these packages?' "The angel replied, 'These are the sins that you committed on earth. In the end, everything is taken into account.' I was shaken. "Then, other horse-drawn carriages rode up, heavily laden with clumps of earth, stones, boulders and sand. And now the angels loaded all of these onto the other side of the scale, which began dipping down. "'And what are those packages?' I asked the angel. "He answered, 'Those are the stones, boulders and dirt that you removed from the Holy Land. They will defend you regarding the part that you have taken in building the land.' "Trembling, I stood and gazed at the side of the scales
where my merits were being placed. The scale went down little by little, until it was only a tiny bit higher than the scale of guilt." When the man finished speaking, Rav Kook replied, "You see, my son, your question has received an answer from heaven." And Rav Kook said no more. Malachim Kivnei Adam The Sanatorium by Simcha Raz An American Jew, who came to the land of Israel due to the influence of Rav Kook, initially intending to settle there, reconsidered and decided to leave, and came to Rav Kook to take his leave. Rav Kook asked him, "Why are you leaving?" "Rabbi, I am tired of the life here in the land of Israel. I can't stand the irreligiosity, desecration of the Sabbath and of the religion that has spread through the pioneers and the different groups. And that is why I have decided to leave the land of Israel and return to America." These words, that came from the mouth of a sincere Jew in the midst of his turmoil, deeply upset the heartstrings of Rav Kook. But he held himself back, and with a smile asked him where he lived in America. "I live in Denver, Colorado," the American Jew replied. And with a patriotic pride, he began to describe the city and its beauty to Rav Kook: "It is surrounded by mountains, its atmosphere is clear and pure." He added, "There are no little, dirty streets, as there are here in Jerusalem. There the streets are broad, the houses are large and beautiful, electric lights light up the whole city...." And he continued speaking about the natural beauty that surrounds the city of Denver. Rav Kook interrupted him and said: "It seems to me that in Denver there are many people who suffer from tuberculosis. I heard from someone who recently returned from there, that he
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himself, when he was in Denver, met many people with chronic, serious disease, without any hope of a cure. And if, as you say, Denver has such a healthy atmosphere, why does it have so many sick people?" The American Jew replied, "Does the rav believe that those sick people are natives of Denver? They come from other cities that doesn't have a good atmosphere, where they grew ill, and on doctors's orders, they came to Denver to breathe its air and get better. Obviously, some of those who come have long[-standing diseases, because they had delayed coming to Denver. Their lungs are already badly damaged and they are practically beyond hope. When it comes to such sick people, it must be, that Jew you spoke to met on the streets of Denver, and he simply thought by accident that the city is responsible for their chronic diseases. That simple person didn't know that that city, with its healthful atmosphere, has healed thousands of people who came there from across the country." Rav Kook replied to the man, "Listen to what you yourself are saying! The atmosphere of our holy land also gives wisdom and heals, and to it have come and continue to come poor Jews from all the lands of the exile, whose atmosphere influenced their souls badly, poisoned their souls, and they might have, heaven forbid to assimilate amidst the gentiles and to die a spiritual death in a foreign land. But the Healer of the sick of the nation of Israel made the cure before the disease, and breathed into them the breath of life and love and yearning for the land of Israel, and they come to this place of health and breathe the atmosphere; and if you see so many ill people, spiritually ill in our holy land, they were born outside, and if they hadn't come here sooner, they would have assimilated there. They are seriously ill, but with their coming here, we must treat them, just as people with tuberculosis are treated in Denver. And I completely believe that the air of the land of Israel will influence many of them to good and to blessing, and to the health of their body and soul." Malachim Kivnei Adam, pp. 400-01
Political Profit by Rabbi Shmuel Aharon Shazuri Rabbi Shmuel Aharon Shazuri (Weber), secretary of the chief rabbinate, tells: After the pogroms of 1920 [5680-81], the Arab rioters were given light sentences. At the same time, new restrictions were placed on Jewish immigration. When Herbert Samuel, the British chief representative, asked Rav Kook for his opinion, he replied, "Why does the Torah only fine a thief double payment, in contrast to man-made laws, which are stricter? The reason is that the thief endangers his life: he knows that if he will be found breaking into a house, he is liable to be killed. Nevertheless, this does not deter him. And so, if the Torah were to threaten him with an equivalent punishment, he would not be deterred from robbing a second time. But he does take a monetary punishment seriously, because that endangers his purpose. "Therefore," Rav Kook continued, "what upsets me is not that the Arab rioters are given light sentences, but that they gain political profit from their actions. In my opinion, the sole punishment that can deter them is a political loss, for that would endanger their purpose." Malachim Kivnei Adam, p. 155 United to Do Your Will by Avraham Kav After Yom Kippur of 1928, when the British Mandate government interfered with the prayers at the Kotel, Rav Kook stated, "Come and learn how we relate to the nations of the world and how they respond to us. On the Days of Awe, we pray, 'Place Your awe on all Your beings...May all beings fear You and all creatures bow before You, and all be united to do Your will with a
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full heart.' And at that moment, when we pray that the entire world will recognize God, the gentiles come and interfere with our prayers, which are being recited on their behalf." Malachim Kivnei Adam, p. 167 A Divine Right by Simcha Raz In 1929, the Arabs, supported by the British authorities in the land of Israel, were attempting to deny Jews the right to pray before the Western Wall. When Rabbi Kook appeared before a commission set up to deal with the matter, he turned to the head of the commission and said in a trembling voice: "What do you mean by saying that this commission will decide who has ownership over the Western Wall? Does this commission or the league of nations control the Wall? From whom have you received permission to decide who owns it? The entire world is the possession of the Holy One, blessed be He, the Creator of the world. And the Holy One, blessed be He, gave the nation of Israel possession of the entire land of Israel, including the Western Wall. No power in the world, no League of Nations and not this commission can suspend this divine right." The commission head commented that almost two thousand years had passed since the Jews had possessed the land of Israel, including the Western Wall. To this, Rav Kook replied quietly and calmly: "In Jewish law, there is a concept of an owner's giving up his right to his property--including his land. But when a person's land was stolen from him, and he protested and continues to protest, his rights never expire." Malachim Kivnei Adam, p. 179
The City of Hebron by Simcha Raz In the major essay of Haheid (Adar 5690), the authoreditor, R. Binyomin (under the pseudonym, Y. Ish-Sadeh), described an assembly of public mourning in Jerusalem half a year after the Hebron pogroms. He reported the trembling speeches, and in particular the exalted words of Rav Kook: It was the twentieth of Shevat, exactly a half year since the burial of the martyrs of Hebron. But the Yeshurun Synagogue was completely filled. People crowded the seats and stood between the seats. Outside, masses stood on the sidewalk in front of the synagogue.... Amidst the crowd were refugees of Hebron, those mourners before whose eyes the murders had taken place. And all this strengthened the feeling of pain and sorrow. Rabbi Yosef Halevi led the afternoon prayer in a low voice. When he came to the mourners' kaddish, the refugees of Hebron stood and cried in voice that pierced the heart: "Yitgadel veyitkadesh shmei rabbah...." Rabbi Slonim of Hebron, who had lost his beloved son, daughter-in-law and all their children save one, stood up. In measured words filled with sorrow, he opened the meeting in the name of the refugees of Hebron. A half a year had not healed the wound. The murder and destruction had not yet been rectified. Neither the government nor the leaders of the Jewish community had done anything to restore Hebron. This gathering must report the outcry of Hebron to all Jews.... Then Rav Kook spoke: The martyrs of Hebron do not need a eulogy. Neither we nor the entire Jewish people can forget the supernal, pure martyrs, shining like the brightness of the sky, who were murdered and killed by unclean murderers and criminals. But we are obligated at this time to recall, and to announce to the
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people of Israel that we will not forget the city of our forefathers and that we will understand what it means to us. "The acts of the forefathers are a sign for the children." When the weak-hearted spies came to Hebron, they were afraid because of the strong nation dwelling in the land. Then, "Yehoshua silenced...and said: Let us go up and inherit it, for we can surely overcome it" (B'midbar 13:30). We too, despite the terrible disaster that occurred to us in Hebron, proclaim openly to all that as our strength was then, so is it now. We will not be moved from our place and from our ideals. With greater might and greater strength, we will return to Hebron, for there are we rooted. It is the city of our forefathers, the city of the Machpelah, the city of Dovid, the cradle of our kingdom, one of the refuge cities. We say, "He hangs the earth upon nothingness." The foundation of [seeming] nothingness is the strongest element--"not like our Rock is their rock." Certainly, we are obligated to weigh our actions with intelligence and thoughtfulness, in a careful and orderly manner. We can assume that the activists who are dedicated to the idea of the rebuilding of Hebron know what lies before them. And whoever weakens the hands of the builders with the claims that they have no foundation, whoever mocks and says, "What are these pitiful Jews doing?," whoever does not help rebuild Hebron is damaging the root of our nation and will have to give an accounting. Now that criminals and evil men have repaid us evil for good, we have but one unassailable reply: the Jewish community of Hebron will be rebuilt, with God's help, in honor and beauty! Despite the terrible disaster that was poured out upon the Jewish community in Hebron, we must proclaim as Calev ben Yefuneh proclaimed in his day: "Let us go up and inherit it, for we can surely overcome it" (B'midbar 13:30). The inner character of Hebron is: strength and awakening in the might of the Eternal One of Israel. And just as that strong Jew, Yehoshua, proclaimed years
later: "I am still strong today--as my strength was then, so is it now" (Yehoshua 14:11), so must we rise and proclaim openly to all that as our strength was then, so is it now. We must rebuild Hebron even more, with greater strength, out of a concern for the peace and security of every single Jew. With the help of God, we will merit to see Hebron rebuilt upon its site, quickly and in our days. Likutei Harayah To Visit His Palace by Simcha Raz In the 1920s, the Arabs were attempting to prevent Jewish access to the Western Wall, and the Mandate Government instituted temporary restrictions. The Jewish Investigatory Committee proposed that Jews ceased going to the Western Wall until its status would be resolved. Rav Kook published a strong response to this proposal: AI do not agree to a cessation of visits to the Western Wall, even temporarily. It is impossible that the testimony to the holiness of the Wall that is made by our visits, and prayers and tears there, since the destruction of the Temple, be interrupted. Until now, the Arabs and other nations who had controlled the Land have recognized our right to the Wall, which is carved from the depth of our souls, and they have not dared interrupt visits and prayers at this holy site. Even a temporary cessation of visitation may be turned in the hands of our opponents into a false proof against us before the present authorities. Heaven forbid that he show weakness in regard to the sanctity of the Wall, in opposition to the true reality that the holy, eternal love and inheritance of our forefathers to the sanctity of the remnant of our Temple is carved forever like a seal upon our hearts.@ Malachim Kivnei Adam, pp. 180-81 If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem
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by Simcha Raz Yosef Sharvit tells that during the controversy in at the end of the 1920s over control of the Western Wall, the judge, Mordecai Elias, presented the question of possession in an ambiguous form. On the one hand, the Jewish community does not demand control of the Western Wall, only free access to pray next to it. On the other hand, the terms of ownership and control do not apply to a holy place such as the Wall. This approach was based on appeasing the non-Jews without denying the rights of the Jewish people.... But when Rav Kook learned of this, he protested and opposed it with all his strength. AHeaven forbid! We have no right to do so. The nation of Israel has not given us the authority to give up the Western Wall in its name. Our possession of the Wall is a divine possession. It is with that right that we come to pray there.@ Malachim Kivnei Adam, p. 178 One Proclamation by Simcha Raz My nephew, Rabbi Shlomo Kook, tells: In the summer of 5690 (1930), the Arabs demanded that the Jews withdraw any claim of rights to the Western Wall. They threatened that if not, they would resume their riots and pogroms. Rav Kook sat at a meeting with the heads of the various Jewish communities, among them Zalman Rovshov (who would change his name to Shazar and later become President of the State of Israel). They discussed issuing a proclamation regarding the sanctity of the Wall and its uniqueness to the Jewish people. Zalman Rovshov-Shazar proposed that two proclamations be issued: one from the religious circles and one from the more general populace. Rav Kook said nothing.
Later, he was brought a proposed version of proclamation for the religious circles. Only then did he say to Zalman RovshovShazar that he wants only one proclamation, one version, in the name of all the Jewish people. He said, AThere are people who are musically gifted--some have a musical education and others do not. But even those who have not been musically trained feel echoes in the depths of their hearts when they hear certain tunes. Our relationship to the Western Wall is one of the Jewish motifs that arouses the heart of every Jew, whoever he might be. And therefore, the proclamation must be one.@ Malachim Kivnei Adam
RAV KOOK AND THE KOTEL by Prof. Haim Lipschitz In the summer of 6690 (1930), the Arabs demanded that the Jews give up their rights to the Western Wall, the Kotel. They threatened that if the Jews did not acquiesce, they would continue carrying out pogroms. The Zionist Committee, the Jewish Agency and the National Committee all favored giving up Jewish rights, and they attempted to persuade Rav Kook to agree to this, to his sorrow. At that time, Rav Kook and his family were on vacation in Kiryat Moshe, which was then a suburb of Jerusalem. A Jew from England, who had a large house in the neighborhood, had lent it to Rav Kook=s family. Together with Rav Kook was his shammash, Rabbi Meir Dovid, a Karliner Hasid who served Rav Kook like a Hasid serving his rebbe. There was also a talented young man from Germany who was drawn to the teachings of Rav Kook and who wanted to translate Orot Hateshuvah into German. One day, Rabbi Tzvi Yehudah, the son of Rav Kook, sat in a room studying Orot Hateshuvah with this young man. Following the morning prayers, Rav Kook had lain in the bedroom the entire day, in weakness and sorrow, due to the troubling situation. Suddenly, Rabbi Meir Dovid broke into the room where Rabbi Tzvi Yehudah was sitting with the young man and said, ADoesn=t it bother you? You know what is happening here, what is going on here! And now So-and-so (one of the community leaders) is here and he is bothering Rav Kook regarding the Kotel. Don=t you know the sorrow that this is causing the Rav?@ That leader, accompanied by another well-known man, was sitting with Rav Kook and attempting to persuade him that it was correct to give up the Jews= rights. But Rav Kook stayed firm.
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When they left the Rav with nothing, Rav Tzvi Yehudah turned to them emotionally and said, AThis is murder! You know how much pain this causes the Rav!@ One of the men was insulted, and he responded, AI have never murdered anyone.@ Rav Tzvi Yehudah answered, AI did not call you a murderer, but this behavior has something of murder in it.@ After the men left, Rav Tzvi Yehudah returned to learn Orot Hateshuvah with the young man. But soon afterwards, Rabbi Meir Dovid again burst in and announced that one of the men had returned in order to persuade Rav Kook to take part in a meeting of the National Committee regarding the Kotel, and that the man had already gone out to telephone the National Committee office. Rabbi Tzvi Yehudah ran to the house that had the only telephone in the neighborhood, where he found the man standing at the telephone. Rabbi Tzvi Yehudah yelled at him, AIt will never be! The Rav will not go with you to a meeting about the Kotel.@ The man was taken aback, and over the phone he told the National Committee that there would be no meeting, because Rav Kook=s family was not allowing him to participate. Because Rav Kook did not go to the National Committee, a few National Committee members came to him and argued that it was standard British government practice to obtain the Chief Rabbi=s signature in such a matter, and that the well-being of the Jewish community depended on giving in, for the Arab mufti was threatening further pogroms. They argued with Rav Kook for hours, constantly repeating, AThe existence of the Jewish community depends on this!@ But Rav Kook stood firm. He explained that from the most basic practical point of view, giving up our rights would not help the situation. Rav Kook was filled with sorrow and worry, and his health was affected. But he did not move from his position. After a day or two, another known community leader came to plead with Rav Kook. How could Rav Kook be so cruel when the very existence of the community was at stake? But this too did not influence Rav Kook. The next day, another well-known leader came and asked Rav Kook to have pity on the community and reconsider the situation. But he too did not persuade Rav Kook. And another leader came and said, AThere is no choice, the entire life of the community depends on this.@ And one leader proposed various types of compromise--but with no result. Rav Kook did not change his position: we do not cede rights to the Kotel! Shivchei Harayah, pp. 238-40
Jewish Pride
by Simcha Raz In Av, 5689 (1929), the Sixteenth Zionist Congress convened in Zurich. At that time, there broke out the bloody pogroms in the land of Israel--while the majority of the Jewish leaders were absent....During these events, hundreds of Jews were killed and injured by Arab rioters, particularly in the community of Chevron..... At a meeting between the British Secretary, Lock, and Rav Kook, Lord Lock told Rav Kook, AYou Jews may defend yourselves, but do not attack others.@ Rav Kook replied, AYou who violate the commandment >do not murder,= do not teach us ethics! The Talmud teaches, >he who comes to kill you, rise up and kill him.=@ This proud stance made a great impression on the entire Jewish world. Avigdor Hemeiri testifies: AIf not for this one man, completely unique, who stood at the post of our national and individual honor, then we would also have been mourning the death of our self-respect.@ The news of Rav Kook=s response spread quickly throughout the Jewish community and aroused a stir. While many praised the passionate and proud response, others criticized Rav Kook, particularly out of fear that Lock would take revenge on the Jewish community, which depended to a great degree on his mercy. Whenever Rav Kook appeared somewhere, immediately two camps formed, arguing loudly for and against Rav Kook. Soon after this event, Rav Kook was invited to a circumcision and a heated argument over this matter broke out. When Rav Kook saw this, he signaled to his shamash, Rabbi Meir Dovid Shotland, who was a smart and learned Jew, to calm the people down. Rabbi Meir Dovid stood up and called out, APeople! Very soon the new-born infant will be brought in and we will all greet him by standing up and saying, Boruch Haba: Welcome is he who comes. I have two questions regarding this. First of all, why do
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we not greet a bar mitzvah boy or a bridegroom, who can understand what we are saying, with the same greeting? And secondly, why is it that after the circumcision, we do not take leave of the baby by saying >Blessed is he who leaves=?@ Silence fell over the group. Rabbi Meir Dovid continued: ANow I will answer these two questions. To our sorrow and humiliation, Jews are impressed by every uncircumcised non-Jew and show him honor at every opportunity, whether or not he deserves it. That is why we rise to greet the child--for he is not yet circumcised, not yet brought into the Jewish covenant. But once he is circumcised and becomes a Jew, we no longer treat him with any particular respect. And thus we do not say >Blessed is he who leaves.=@ Malachim Kivnei Adam
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YOUNG PEOPLE
Teaching the Children We must make it easy for our children to explicitly find in all areas of life the exalted ideals that come from keeping the Torah and its commandments. The Torah should not be "the word of the Lord, law by law, line by line, a little here, a little there" (Isaiah 28:13). The Torah should be a commandment that is all-inclusive and living, established and faithful--that brings the light of life and the halo of glory to each of our children and to the whole of our people. Our faith must be filled with wisdom and knowledge. Our awe must contain glory and honor of the God of Israel, of God Who is awesome in beauty. This is one with the greatness of life and the light of joy demanded from each individual whose soul dwells in that light, and from the entire nation that is strong and desires life. "Children of Zion, be glad; rejoice in the Lord your God" (from Isaiah 33:6). This is the most holy service of Torah in these generations. The most outstanding scholars--in particular, those who find within themselves a talent and inner ability for ethical and poetic teachings, for exalted thoughts in the highest areas of wisdom--are forbidden to suppress and restrain that praiseworthy endowment. They must broaden and expand it. Each day, with their knowledge, wisdom and talent, they must present broad and suitable teachings. Such people particularly must devote to such teachings the majority of their talents. They should not be concerned that this dedication will diminish and simplify their study of practical Torah. It may limit them to study the clear halachah and its simple explanation, to clarify each matter as it comes, calmly and unhurriedly, with a broad overview of the given halachah and the
basic theory behind it. But it is from this that true brilliance comes--of its own, and when required--without the great toil of extended casuistics. The majority of casuistics is intended only for those who otherwise lack the ability to slake their thirst for the breadth of Torah and the strength of intellectual freedom. A little casuistics is always pleasant and reasonable, good and fine, even for those who are most occupied with their exalted spiritual progress. But the basic business of these sensitive souls must be "to open the eyes of the blind, to deliver the prisoner from the jail, to bring forth from the dungeon those who sit in darkness" (Isaiah 42:7). Ikvei Hatzoan, p. 140 Rav Kook and Young People: Two Vignettes I was a child when I came to the land of Israel in 5683 (1902). At that time, my father brought me before Rav Kook. After speaking with me on Torah topics, Rav Kook told me to visit him a few times a week. On those occasions, he would test me and discuss Torah subjects that he was dealing with. His warm attitude toward me encouraged me greatly and inspired me to learn with great diligence. In 5685 (1904), Rav Kook returned from his trip to the United States. The street was bustling with the throngs who had come to meet him. I pushed my way through the crowd and came close to his carriage. When Rav Kook noticed me in the crowd, he called to me, "Yishayale, come here!" When I approached the carriage, he pulled me up next to him. He asked how I was doing and how my family was, and he took interest in my learning with every sign of affection and attention. Rabbi Yishaya Chalamish, Likutei Harayah, p. 398
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One late Thursday night, I was sitting in the yeshiva, learning. I did not realize that Rav Kook had entered--and suddenly, he was standing at my side. He picked up my Gemara, saw what I was learning, and began question me. As we spoke, he began to explain the topic at length. And he continued speaking until dawn, when the first members of the sunrise minyan began to arrive. Rabbi Baruch Duvdavni, Likutei Harayah, p. 399
TORAH
The Worth of Torah The Torah is given to Israel as the brightest, broadest, holiest gateway of light--more than the other gateways, which shine with a natural understanding and the spirit of humanity's natural morality. The gateway of Torah will be opened for us; and, through us, for the entire world. If we close our ears to the wide-spread voice of God, which calls with vigor through all the natural gateways of light, which is the inheritance of all humanity, because we think that we will find the light of Torah only in a Torah that is torn from any light of the life that is dispersed in the world, in that light's inner being and in the soul of man in its glory, we do not understand the worth of Torah. In regard to this, the verse states, "A nation that is foolish and not wise." And Onkelos translates: "A nation that received the Torah, yet did not grow wise." Orot Hatorah 12:5 The Torah Is the Spiritual Holy Land Just as the Community of Israel develops its special qualities to their full extent only in the land of Israel, so does each Jew only develop his special spiritual qualities by means of the Torah. The Torah is the spiritual holy land, corresponding to the unique nature of the Jewish soul. All other areas of knowledge are like other lands, and relate as such to the soulful greatness of the nation of Israel. Orot Hatorah 12:7 Torah Learning for the Creative Individual
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Outstanding people who are involved in Torah and who have a talent and inner predilection for ethical and poetic studies, for high thoughts and exalted wisdom, may not suppress or nullify that great desire. They must broaden it and make it great. They must every day engage in Torah learning that is broad and that transmits knowledge, wisdom and ability. Such people must dedicate most of their talent to such learning. They should not worry that this dedication may force them to curtail their practical Torah learning, leading them to satisfy themselves with learning that is easy, short and straight, allowing them to simply know the halachah and its reasoning clearly, and allowing them to simply clarify everything in its time with the calm learning of breadth of knowledge in (a) halachah, (b) the basic Talmud discussions and (c) the various approaches of the sages. [This will not keep them from being sharp.] True Torah sharpness is naturally born of this learning [mentioned above] of itself, and appears when it is needed. One does not need to work hard and spend a great deal of time on pilpul. As it is, most pilpul is intended for those [who, not being poetic,] turn to it to fulfill the thirst of their soul for the breadth of Torah and powerful intellectual freedom. A little pilpul is always good, even for those who are mostly involved in very spiritual matters; but the basic concern of these sensitive souls must be "to open the eyes of the blind; to bring the prisoner out of the jail; to take the man sitting in darkness out of his cell" (Is. 42:7). Eder Hay'kar, p. 140 Make the Torah Greater "Learn Torah for its own sake." Learn for the sake of the Torah. God desires that wisdom be made actual. This wisdom is
more desirable and uplifted than we can ever understand. Any lack comes from us. Because we are immersed in a physical body, we cannot recognize [wisdom's] greatness, its strength and uplifted nature. The wisdom of the Torah is the divine revelation that, in accordance with God's will, results from our worship and learning. When we learn Torah, we bring its wisdom from potential to actual--as it relates to our spirit. There can be no comparison between the light that is renewed when the Torah is connected to one person's spirit and when the Torah is connected to another person's spirit. So when we learn Torah, we literally make it greater. Since the Holy One, blessed be He, wishes to make the Torah greater, we should learn out of love for the great light that God wishes to be revealed, [in our own desire that it] grow greater and greater. Even more, we should create Torah thoughts, for this certainly makes the Torah greater--literally, with a double measure of light. Orot Hatorah 2:1 Torah for its Own Sake [What is] the essence of learning Torah for its own sake? In spiritual teachings, this is self-understood. Such teachings are openly concerned with coming close to God and elevation in sanctity. We are uplifted by these teachings. But what about Torah texts on practical matters? We must understand that these are all branches and garments of the light of divine honesty and justice. Within their details, we may find the divine soul of the perfection of the world: in life, in physicality and in spirit, in community and in the individual. Once we realize this, light gleams and descends into every detail. Once the feeling of our inner heart and mind is dedicated to the divine and inclusive illumination hidden in the multitude of these practical teachings, we come to an inner
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revelation within every detail, which shines in accordance with the capability of our individual spirit. At times, our thought broadens and takes such clear form that we may even express and explicate the spark of divine light that we have understood in some of those details. And in this elevated state, we uplift all the details. At other times, the matter is revealed only as a subtle glimmer in the chambers of our heart. Even then, however, this lifts our soul to an elevated state, through which all of life is rarified. In regard to this latter manifestation, our sages stated: "Whoever learns Torah for its own sake merits many things." And regarding the [former] inclusive illumination, they added: "And not only that, but the whole world is considered worthwhile for his sake." Orot Hatorah 2:2 A Delicate Longing The connection of the Torah with the Holy One, blessed be He, is the foundation of the holy service of the unique few. We concern ourselves with Jewish law, with its analysis and details. We know--generally--that all the words of Torah are the paths of God, flowing from the source of supernal life. But still, doesn't a divine longing live within our soul? Doesn't the pleasantness of God pulse within it? Closeness to God is more pleasing to our soul than all pleasures. This is a delicate longing that is felt as well in the heart of life: "My heart and my flesh sing for the living God." How may we lift up the noble feeling that is hidden within all crevices and details of the Torah to that same level of supernal, inclusive feeling that pours into the soul from the supernal pleasure? This results from a mighty uplifting of the spirit. It has to do with connecting the Torah and the Holy One, blessed be He--
that is, connecting the particularistic lower Torah to the inclusive upper Torah. Orot Hatorah, 3:1 Positive Mindfulness When we elevate matters with our clarity of intent, our awareness continuously expands in the abundance of a superior reality. At that point, our desire--a desire of eternal love, of great love--for the light of the infinite is scented from the Eden of life. Then we shall gaze and be illumined. But if our mindfulness is dislodged and grows impoverished, the face of heaven darkens. Beauty turns to mourning and to barrenness. Then that clarifying process that comes from heaven, which demands the right to play its role, depresses the special mission of humanity. It dulls the light of mindfulness and the complete contents of a full life. This clarifying process, reaching to the root of all being, is a necessity: deeply implanted and flowing without cease. Now, the wellsprings of the flow of life dry up because our hands are feeble in dealing with the supernal Torah. But everything returns to its light and to its shining life when we engage in supernal repentance filled with knowledge and positive mindfulness, illumined with the light of Torah contained within the wisdom of the Jewish people, which is the inheritance of our patriarchs and which is filled with an eternal glory. The text of the blessing, "He planted eternal life within us," refers to the oral Torah: in all its levels and in the totality of its beauty. Orot Hatorah 3:2 One Command The essence of knowledge is that the totality of the Torah should cleave to our hearts so strongly and with such clear
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understanding that this totality will powerfully pour forth, resulting in a powerful, individual concern for every mitzvah and detail of the Torah. This will be like the powerful life-force that pours forth from the heart, spreading to every limb. This is not the case when there is no true, all-encompassing knowledge. Then everything in the Torah is separate. This creates confusion in our basic understanding of the Torah. It prevents our service of love and generosity. Then Athe word of Hashem shall be for you a command and a command, a line and a line.@ We must recognize the words of the Torah as one law and one command. Orot Hatorah 3:3 The Voice of the Living God A profound recognition of the divine purpose within the Torah, as well as within prophecy and holy inspiration in general, brings our thought to observe their unity. We realize that the Pentateuch encompasses the other writings of the Bible, and that the Pentateuch in its supernal holiness is enveloped within the voice of the living God. As long as our soul lives, we heed and hear this great voice, which penetrates all of the Torah. Throughout all its generations, the people of Israel has recognized this great principle of the oneness of the Torah. We cling to that with all our heart and spirit. We know that God's Torah is perfect. We know that the essence of our unified soul wells from this true Torah's unified light, that the light of the one God appears within us with a clarifying prominence: black fire upon white fire. And we attribute all of our original nature to this living source. We are certain that this is a tower of strength for us. We know that the entire Torah is merely one name of the Holy One, blessed be He: one name, one expression, one statement, with none else, for everything is contained within Him.
Orot Hatorah 4:1 Contained Within the Torah The entire Torah consists of the names of the Holy One, blessed be He. Every good attribute, every mark of civility, is contained within the Torah. Every wisdom is rooted in the Torah. Indeed, the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, shines within everything good--whether in an individual or a group. There is a difference between a person who knows that everything consists of light sparkling from the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, or a person who does not know. Nevertheless, this difference is merely a matter of degree. The essence of the matter depends upon the inner core of our will: to whatever degree it corresponds to goodness. Only in this way can we find the light of the Righteous One of the world, He Who is cloaked in the foundation of all, in wisdom and kindness, so as to make the spiritual and physical visions of existence correspond: that is to say, the ideal of what existence could be and the actual coming about of that ideal. The actualization is the outcome of the ideal, and consummates it. Orot Hatorah 4:2 A Love of the Entirety Every individual matter in the Torah flows from the entire Torah: from the written Torah, the oral Torah, any good learning, any mitzvah, and any good trait. There are differences between these levels. But the love and joy in performing the mitzvos and in learning Torah for its own sake must be a love of the entirety: a love of all the light, life, holiness and supernal spirituality--literally, of all of it. It is stored and hidden within whatever detail we are involved with. And it grows prominent due to the content of that detail, in all the manifestations of its light, glory and holy radiance.
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Orot Hatorah 4:3 When Your Soul Connects When your soul connects with the supernal light of the Torah, its smallest details become beloved to your soul. Then your desire for the Torah spreads to every letter of its subtleties and the subtle distinctions made by the rabbis, as they spread and branch forth. Orot Hatorah 5:1 The Joy That the Torah Gives us The joy that the Torah gives us comes from the preponderance of light within the letters of the Torah, filled as they are with the life-force of divine pleasure. These letters pervade the totality of our soul with the light of life and the joy of heaven. This is a joy that flows from the letters themselves, which are already comprehended by the soul. But more than that, it flows from the glorious spiritual life-force that constantly cascades from the supernal wellsprings. That life-force is much more exalted than the letters that are comprehended by the soul with which we can communicate. The light of those letters' hidden joy is great, filled with a tranquillity and wondrous pleasure which nothing can equal. Orot Hatorah 5:2 The Encompassing Light At times, we cannot learn because we are on a level where the encompassing light that transcends letters shines upon us, and we cannot constrict ourselves within the letters of what we are learning. When we accept this illumination in holiness and humility, we can learn with great joy and a very clear understanding.
Orot Hatorah 5:3 The Luminosity of Repentance Corresponding to the luminosity of our repentance before learning Torah is the luminosity of our understanding. To the extent that our will rises, so does our mind rise. To the extent that our will is luminous, so is our mind luminous. Orot Hatorah 6:2 Far from Words of Torah There are a number of causes that can keep us far from words of Torah and prevent them from entering our hearts. We must always know the cause of such an obstacle when we feel it, so that we may know how to remove it and allow our heart to be open to a clear connection with the Torah's words. If we do not know the correct cause, we might busy ourselves in extensive work to remove some other cause, which is not presently impeding us. Then the real cause that keeps us from clinging to Torah will remain in place, and we will stay confused. Some of these causes are spiritual; others physical. Some stem from inadequate preparation of the holy; others from inadequate preparation of the this-worldly. Orot Hatorah 7:1 The Neglect of Torah The "neglect of Torah" is different for everyone, each on his level. Someone who can rise mentally to a great level but who is indolent or afraid and thus rejects his lofty state, allowing himself to remain low, is rejecting the Torah of God for which he is suited. In regard to this, the rabbis stated that "God overlooked idolatry, immorality and bloodshed, but not the rejection of the
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Torah." Orot Hatorah 7:2
"We Will Do and We Will Listen" "We will do and we will listen." "We will do" comes before "we will listen." As a result, we appreciate the Torah for its divinely unique aspect more than we might appreciate it solely for any necessary practical advantage that exists in learning. First comes "we will do." This encompasses our connection to the value of practical learning. But then comes "we will listen." This shields our connection to the transcendent value of Torah learning. Orot Hatorah 8:1 The Essential Core When we learn in holiness, our will and mind grow refined. The divine illumination comes from the essential core of our soul and fills its being entirely. Then spiritual life spreads out to the ends of its being, just as blood courses to all parts of the body. But secular learning, of whatever discipline, only enlivens the particular topic with which it deals. This is the basic difference between the holy and secular in regard to quantitative worth. But from the aspect of qualitative worth, the difference is infinitely more exalted. Orot Hatorah 6:1 Halachah and Aggadah by Haim Lifshitz Once, a man close to Rav Kook confided in him, "My son does not have a great desire to learn Torah."
Rav Kook replied, "When I was young, I also did not have a great desire to learn the halachah. My heart was drawn after aggadah. And by learning aggadah, I came to learn halachah. I advise you to teach your son aggadah. As a result, he will also come to learn halachah." And so it was. Shivchei Harayah, p. 180 The Inner Character The Torah literally makes the Jewish soul. Wisdom in general, that which is outside the concepts of Torah, makes the human soul. When we gaze at the character of the core of the human soul, we will find the spirit of Israel alive within it. In the inner character of all betterment and wisdom, we will find the light of Torah. Orot Hatorah 12:4 The Secret of the Sacrificial System The secret of the sacrificial system is, literally, the elevation of the animal's animal spirit. The existence of the Jewish people and its permanence, both spiritual and this-worldly, create a soul-power at its center. When we elevate and offer a sacrifice of an animal or other kosher sacrifice, we raise these energies [of the sacrifice] to increase the power in the store-house of our people, in our strength for God. Then our spirituality and physicality rise. As a result, the entire world is blessed, because the "community of Israel" is, in general, the center of the world. All of our longing for the restitution of sacrifices with the building of the Temple is literally for the sake of perfecting our people and the world with new powers, exceedingly mighty. This can occur only when the world is improved with the building of the Temple and the building-up of
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our people on our land, which necessarily comes first, however it may occur, spiritually and physically. When we gaze at the secrets of the inner Torah, we rise beyond the limited ideas of the thoughts of human intellect. We are not affected by their limited knowledge and grasp of what a sacrifice is. Instead, our thoughts broaden into a supernal breadth. "Open your mouth and I will fill it." Mishnat Harav, p. 81 Together, They Revel When we learn simple matters in Torah, we should be aware of how the supernal light descends in a wondrous form, until it is well-established in this world of action. We should broaden our heart in regard to this great preciousness and the strength of this life-force, which flows from the source of the Holy of Holies, and which is given fullness from the sanctified path of the light of Israel in all the world. Know clearly that this light, which is so constricted within words and letters, within customs, within actions, within laws, within the tools of logical analysis and reasoning, meets with the supernal light that is elevated above all these. It is cleansed within it. And together, they revel. And the light of the Life of the worlds is filled with great radiance and pleasure because of that continuous encounter, which is brought about by the strength of a person learning Torah for its own sake, making peace in the realms above and the realms below. Orot Hakodesh, II:3 The Plain of Halachah and Aggadah When we begin to take steps upon the plain of halachah and aggadah, a multitude beyond number of unions and harmonies beyond number is drawn out. The universes of heaven and earth,
humanity of the flesh and humanity of ideas, with all the wealth hidden in each of them, are then unified. They bring each other to the wished-for action that leads toward complete growth and perfection. This connection is nothing less than the revelation of the unity that had been hidden within them from the very beginning. Whoever has not tasted the flavor of halachah has not tasted the flavor of Torah. And whoever has not tasted the flavor of aggadah has not tasted the flavor of fear of sin. Torah and fear of sin must always accompany one another. The service of Torah learning must be methodically revealed, in an active form, upon this unifying basis--one whose results are very great. In truth, aggadah always contains a halachic essence. Similarly, halachah contains an inner agaddic content. In the main, the content of aggadah is found in the qualitative form of halachah. And the content of halachah is found in the quantitative form of aggadah. Even without any particular search or awareness, when we learn halachah, we are touched by its hidden content of aggadah; and, when we learn aggadah, we are touched by the pulse of halachah that is folded into the content of the aggadah. However, not everyone has a properly keen awareness of these two streams--each of which is constantly filled with the content of the other. An alienation between these worlds, which are in essence so joined and twinned together, leads to an unhealthy separation in the nature of deep study and its broadening. It constricts these two areas--halachic and the aggadic--to a narrow arena. We must clearly bring forth the meeting of these two forces in a rectified form, when each will make the other! s content exceedingly fragrant. Each will profoundly aid the other to bring forth its details and to shine a more brilliant light upon its own general appearance and upon the depth of its own internal logic and what that embraces. The scent of aggadah must make halachah fragrant, in a measure that is well-reasoned and fitting. And
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aggadah must be given its worth within a framework, with set laws and a clear, defined logic--like the form of a strengthened halachah. With this, the power and freshness of both will be multiplied. The need that brought the masters of pilpul in previous generations to at times attempt to integrate aggadah and halachah welled forth from this demand for a unification of these forces, which so much act in unison. We are already called upon to gather together talents and knowledge in order to clarify our learning and all the paths of our lives. In particular, the essence of halachic learning must be broad, composed of the various approaches of the early and later authorities who have grown to be so many over the generations--we very much need that depth and breadth. And we must approach with complete breadth the unity of the contents of halachah and aggadah--which includes the categories of logic and history, ethics and faith, feeling and civility. And resting upon all of them is a pure phenomenon, one soaked with the dew of the life of the totality of the light of Torah, ready to rest like a beautiful ornament upon all those who learn Torah for its own sake, giving them a special sensitivity and satisfaction of the heart-inspiring joy of Torah. Orot Hakodesh I, pp. 26-27 The Well of Mystical Hints Mystical hints are similar to works of abstract art. Just as abstract art fulfills a certain role in secular matters, these hints fulfill a similar role in matters of holiness. The more that the well of genius is filled with the liquid of life, the more does it cause the created object to branch out in varied, rich images. If the well is very great, it creates structures that are far from reality and that no eye has seen nor ear heard. It is precisely in these images that the wondrous life based on creation is revealed; they represent the testimony of the soul of their creator.
The more that the great satisfaction of the light and faithfilled life wells forth, so do the mystical hints skip logical steps in an increasingly greater and mightier fashion. Beneath every tendril of these mystical hints are hidden a full wealth and treasure of ethics and faith, beauty of holiness, powerful radiance and Godly, inner trust. These comprise the strength and desire of Israel, the joy of all whose hearts are straight, those who seek God and His strength. Orot Hakodesh I, p. 109 The Written Torah and the Oral Torah We receive the written Torah through the most elevated and inclusive conception within our souls. From the midst of our souls, we sense the blaze and beauty of that living, encompassing light of all existence. It makes us soar higher than all logic and intellect. We sense a supernal Godly spirit hovering upon us, touching yet not touching, flying next to our lives and above them, gilding them with its light. This light blazes, sparkles and penetrates everything. It permeates whatever is under the heavens. This great light was not created by the spirit of the Jewish people. Rather, it was created by the spirit of God, the Creator of all. This living Torah is the foundation of the creation of all universes. With the oral Torah, we descend to life. We feel that we are receiving the supernal light in the second conduit within our soul: the conduit that advances toward the life of action. We sense that the spirit of the nation, bound like the flame to the coal with the light of the true Torah, has, with its unique character, fashioned the unique form of the oral Torah. Without a doubt, this Torah of man is encompassed within the Torah of God. It too is the Torah of God. It cannot be that this flow of life through all portals could be hidden from the keen eye of [Moses, who received this Torah,] who gazed through the clear lens, who was trusted in all the house of God. As the sages stated, whatever a thoughtful student will one day conceive of was told to Moses on Sinai.
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These two lights make one complete world, in which heaven and earth are nourished. Orot Hatorah 1:1 The Words of the Scribes The oral Torah exists in the essential character of the Jewish people, which acquired its blessing with the revelation from heaven of the written Torah. In its revealed state, the oral Torah is lower than the written Torah. The chief means of finding its path is the written Torah, which is the supernal relationship of the Jewish people with supernal divinity, with the goal of goals, with victory and splendor in the universes and higher than them all. But in the inner form, is it not the case that the Torah is given to Israel for the sake of our inner, supernal unique being? It is this divine, hidden, unique being that caused the Torah to be revealed to us from heaven. And so in its root the oral Torah is higher than the root of the hidden Torah. "The words of the scribes are more beloved than the words of the Torah." Orot Hatorah 1:2
The Two Companions The oral Torah draws sustenance in a hidden manner from the heavenly, and in a revealed manner from the earthly. The land of Israel must be built up, with all the people of Israel dwelling upon it in a well-ordered manner: with the Temple and a kingdom, with cohanim and prophecy, with judges and officers and all their accouterments. Then the oral Torah will live in all the glow of its beauty. It will flower and bloom. With its
entire measure, it will connect to the written Torah. In exile, these twins were separated. The written Torah rose to the heights of holiness, and the oral Torah descended to the very depths. Nevertheless, [the oral Torah] receives a silent sustenance from the light of the written Torah, from its past uncultivated growth, which suffices to allow it to exist, [although] with a constrained life. Every day, [the oral Torah] descends and falls. But one day the breeze will blow and the light of life will arrive from the treasury of eternal redemption. Then Israel will grow strong. We will be planted upon our land and improve in all the magnificence of our structure. Then the oral Torah will begin to blossom, from the depth of its root. It will rise higher and higher. The light of the written Torah will shine the rays of its light upon it anew: Anew for the morning.@ Then these companions will unite in the realm of their bridal chamber. And the light of the soul of God, the Life of worlds, which is revealed in the revival of Israel (when our horn is lifted), will shine with the light of the seven days of the light of the sun and the light of the moon combined. Then their light will be straight and penetrating, connecting one extremity to the other. It will respond to [?] the land and the nation in every manifestation of life. The light of the moon will be like the light of the sun. And the light of the sun will shine sevenfold, like the light of the seven days, on the day that God binds the fracture of His nation and heals the illness of its wound. Orot Hatorah 1:3 The Business for Which We Are Suited Every one of us must engage in the business for which we are suited. This is particularly true regarding Torah learning. At times, circumstances may make it difficult for you to stand firm in what your heart desires. But nevertheless, you must stay strong and not
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relinquish that which is suited for your particular spirit. Orot Hatorah 9:1 Torah Scholars Whose Learning Is Their Occupation Torah scholars whose learning is their occupation must see to it that their path lies correctly before them and that their goal is clear, so that their spirit may be strong and their mind quiet, calm and settled. How great is the exalted principle, AYou are not required to finish, yet neither are you absolved of the work.@ Therefore, there is not such a great need to visualize self-encouragement in your Torah-learning service that involves embracing the totality of its knowledge. This can calm your heart, so that you may learn every topic with a confident and quiet spirit, undisturbed by other things or by worrying in general about attaining total knowledge, which is impossible. Instead, you find your own personal service acceptable. Nevertheless, you must pave a path for yourself upon which you can still see the complete circumference [of the Torah]. In ideology, you must gain clarity about your purpose and the purpose of your desire in your Torah-learning service of God. Also, in practical learning, you must yearn to encompass and incorporate the complete sum of the entire practical teachings that are in the Torah=s practical aspect--as far as you can. People customarily say that the Torah has no end. In regard to its practical aspect, that is true only within certain parameters-for really, it is possible, when a person goes on a straight path, to attain a total and clear embrace of the entire practical aspect of the Torah. Those who are great need no explanation for this. But those of middle rank need help, after they arrive at the measure of competent understanding of the depth of halachah, in knowing the form of halachah in a straight and proper way, [which they gain] by
serving Torah scholars in correct measure, until they know how to study any Talmudic discussion properly, and how to question and answer in accordance with the path of Torah in the give and take of halachah. Then their main effort must be, first and foremost, to encompass all the halachos of the Rif in their simple meaning, with competent breadth of knowledge. The attainment of this is made much easier by a calm steadfastness. This service is very sweet in itself, as well as a pleasurable vision that is close to the goal of total encompassing , knowing the complete sum of all the halachos--according to how very close [their study is] to their source in the Talmud in general. Only through the gathering of all the details will the great beauty of the glorious building of the entire practical Torah stand before your eyes. When you proceed in this fashion every day, continuously, you will add study-times dedicated to an overall mastery of the written Torah, and you will spend set aside times every day for acquiring the wisdom of the aggadah, midrash, ethical works, philosophy and Kabbalah, in proper proportion, and a breadth of time for independent thought, in order to broaden good sensibilities, as well as your set time for learning Talmud quickly every day, and as well as occasional times for clarifying the depth of halachah broadly and engaging in sharp analysis of various topics, in order to broaden your mind and study in-depth, which is crucial for all those who seek the Torah. When you acquire an encompassing expertise in the halachos of the Rif, there will be born within you the desire to know the halachos clearly. You will learn a great deal of Talmud (Babylonian and Jerusalem), Toseftas and all the words of the Sages, out of an inner recognition of the need for breadth and clarity. The essence of your service must always be in broad learning of the foundations of the halachos and the essentials of the words of Torah, until the perfection of knowledge in all the areas and details will make your awareness whole in all other matters that a person needs. And at that point, people will be inspired by
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your advice and counsel. When you proceed in this way, you will also be able to set fixed times for acquiring the wisdom and knowledge that are useful to a person in this world, which broaden the circumference of your knowledge and give you the courage to face the necessities of life. Then you will be pleasing to others and you will find grace in the eyes of God and man. Orot Hatorah 9:3 The Secrets of the Torah It is good to learn the secrets of the Torah when your inner yearning for closeness to God is strong, intensifying and growing powerful to such a degree that it gives your spirit no rest, so that its will cannot be satisfied by any spiritual and holy program in the world except for an inner meditation that deals with the secrets of the world. This is what constitutes learning Torah for its own sake. Regarding this, we learn: "Whoever engages in Torah learning rises." Orot Hatorah 10:1 To Expel Coarseness It is an established principle that if you see that your success lies in the Torah=s spirituality and mystical teachings, and if you find learning halachah in depth difficult, your inner obligation is to set aside the majority of your time to that study that fits your spirit. Similarly, if you see that learning the secrets of the Torah is sanctifying you, is raising your spirit and bringing you close to holiness with a feeling in your heart and inner mind, and you do not see this desirable fruit from your exoteric studies--and, more than that, they do not suffice to expel from you the coarseness of your proclivities that you sense in your spirit--this is a definite sign
that your rectification lies in learning your portion of the inner light of the Torah=s mysticism. When you feel within yourself such a clarity and purity that the exoteric learning will also support you in [rising in] holiness, you will be able to expand your boundary until you will fulfill your purpose well and come back to gain more pleasure in the teachings of the supernal secrets Afor sustenance, for satiety and for fine garments@ (Isaiah 23:18). When everything is for the sake of heaven, with pure intent, AHe does not despise the suffering of the impoverished@ (Psalms 22:25). Orot Hatorah 10:3
A Double Joy At times, when we learn small matters with such great feeling that they impress our spirit as though they were the highest of the high, our consciousness grows corporeal, and the wings of our spirit are severed. The proper path is to learn every topic with a joy that contains a double feeling. The first is a feeling of supernal greatness, since every spiritual twig makes whole the entire Tree of Life. In this light, everything is great. The second is a feeling that in the particular contents of all learning material, particularly of the Torah, there is a very positive value that is worth being appreciated with the joy of respect in accordance with its value. Then the fire from above and the fire from below join to illuminate and warm our soul. Orot Hatorah 9:9 You Are Capable of Perception It may be that you cannot visualize the subtle aspect of
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those exalted topics dealt with in the secrets of Torah and in all mystical concepts. Still, your general feeling and spiritual refinement are capable of perception. This comes as a result of your wisdom-giving soul's essential recognition and the sense of faith rooted within your spirit. You may only need to use your intellect to purify concepts, so that they will not mislead you, contradicting clear awareness and the pure recognitions of refined faith. Then spiritual impressions will remain with you as thoughts that uplift your spirit and raise it to a supernal divine sphere, a sphere that is the source of soulful happiness and brightness for both the individual and the community. Orot Hatorah 10:6 The Entire World Will Rise The Torah is bound with the spirit of Israel. The sheer spirit of Israel is filled with everything: the light of God, the purpose of creation, the source of souls. When the Torah grows stronger, when its knowledge spreads, when its light shines, when its feelings grow deep in the midst of every soul, then the divine light will spread throughout the world; it will grow more magnificent and exalted; and the entire world will rise with the elevation of those individuals who lift the spirit. Orot Hatorah 12:1 Dark Alleys Shine Once we learn much hidden Torah, whatever we understand and learn from the revealed Torah shines with a precious light. Then the hidden Torah, with its special quality, appears in all those topics that the revealed Torah discusses. This is found in the Jerusalem Talmud: since its authors
were pious, their Torah was "blessed." In contrast, the words of the Babylonian Talmud are merely "kept." It seems that the Jerusalem Talmud deals with more elevated, pious people. Because of them, the Torah grows and becomes glorious. This is due to the appearance of attainments of holiness, starting from a small beginning and developing into great and powerful rivers. These people attain the light of Torah by prayer and deep study, as well as before and after learning. [Such people] constitute the body of Torah and the soul of Torah. In this regard, there is a difference between the air of the land of Israel (where the holy spirit can flow upon the content of Jewish law) and elsewhere (where the holy spirit can spread openly only in aggadah, whereas Jewish law is judged by human intellect). "'In the dark places, You have placed me' (Eichah 3:6)--this is the Babylonian Talmud" (Sanhedrin 24a). But from the midst of darkness, great light will sprout: "The nation that walks in darkness has seen a great light, those who dwell in a land of the shadow of death--light has shone upon them" (Is. 9:1). ["These are masters of the Talmud, who have seen great light, for the Holy One, blessed be He, illumines their eyes with what is forbidden and allowed, what is ritually unclean and clean" (Midrash Tanchuma Noach).] In this way, these people bring down to the lowly avenues of life the illumination of God's supernal Presence. In this way, they cause multitudinous dark alleys to shine. This aids numbers of those who are distant come, approach and connect to the supernal light of the glow of Torah in its might, the Torah of the land of Israel: "'The gold of that land is good' (Bereishis 2:12)-there is no Torah like the Torah of the land of Israel, and no wisdom like the wisdom of the land of Israel" (Bereishis Rabbah 16). Orot Hatorah 13:1 To Study the Torah I have come to encourage you, who require no
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encouragement, to study the Torah diligently and to review your learning well. This is the essence of fruitful learning. In addition, with whatever time you have, learn works of ethical instruction and fear of God. That is the essence of all. Even if your available time to devote to these teachings is a small fraction of the whole, it gives blessed fruits to all other activities and learning. This can be compared to the brain, which though small in size makes the measure a human being. Orot Hatorah The Words of the Sages The oral Torah exists within the essence of the nature of the Jewish people. And received our blessing with the heavenly revelation of the written Torah. As it appears, the oral Torah is lesser than the written Torah. It is the written Torah that provides the chief method of discerning the path of the oral Torah. That path consists of the supernal relationship of the Jewish people with supernal divinity, with the goal of goals, with the might and glory in the worlds, and higher than their totality. But on an inner level, the Torah was given to the Jewish people precisely due to our inner, supernal special quality [which is identified with the Oral Torah]. This divine, hidden special quality caused the [written] Torah to be revealed to us from heaven. And so, the oral Torah is more exalted in its root than the root of the written Torah. "The words of the sages are more beloved than the words of Torah." The Prayerbook and the Villager by Shai Agnon Shai Agnon (winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature) told: One time, a number of us--myself, Chaim Nachman Bialik,
Eliezer Meir Lifshitz, Rabbi Simchah Asaf, Binyamin and others-entered the presence of the great Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Hacohen Kook and discussed the problems of the generation and how to rectify it. One of the group made a speech in praise of the Torah, which ended by criticizing the many additional laws enacted by the rabbis in every generation. Rabbi Nachman rose in pain, and appeared angry. But he immediately overcame his anger, as was his holy way, and answered quietly: Hearing this has brought to mind a story. There was once a great rabbi who happened to pass through a village. Night fell, and he had to stay there overnight. He asked the villager at whose house he was staying for a volume of the Talmud, but the villager didn't have one. He asked for a mishnah--the villager didn't have. He asked for an Ein Yaakov--the villager didn't have that either. Finally, he asked the villager, "Do you have a prayerbook?" The villager brought him an old prayerbook, which contained a commentary that the rabbi read the entire night, and which he enjoyed greatly. The next day, the rabbi offered to pay a good price for the prayerbook, but the villager refused. The rabbi persisted: "I'll trade it for a new prayerbook with a fine binding." But the villager still refused. "Why?" asked the rabbi. The villager replied, "Rabbi, every morning when I get up I like to drink something hot, and I warm up the kettle. To make the fire catch quickly, I light a piece of paper and put it under the tinder. Since I don't have much paper in the house, I rip a page out of the prayerbook and light that. And also, every time I want to smoke my pipe, I rip a page out of the prayerbook to light it. "I am already an old man, but because there is so much commentary, I still haven't come to the prayers. All the pages I've ripped out really aren't the prayerbook."
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Malachim Kivnei Adam, pp. 363-65 Sustaining the World by Avraham Shoar In his youth, the writer, Avraham Shoar, was the chavruta (study partner) of Rav Kook in the beis medrash of Lutzin. He tells that young Avraham Yitzchak's diligence was extraordinary. If a short amount of time passed without learning Torah, he felt real anguish: a actual physical pain: One day (tells Avraham Shoar), he told me: "I have decided that two nights a week, we should learn mishmar (extended learning). Two nights a week, let us learn until dawn." I remember one such mishmar night, typical of the character of this extraordinary man. We were learning Chulin from the Talmud together. We were engaged in halachic dispute. I stood my ground, and we argued at length until we at last came to a shared understanding. It was late. We were learning at the bimah. Around us was silence. In the adjoining dormitory, all the students were already asleep. Before us, burning above the holy ark, was the ner tamid-the eternal light. And we took a short rest from our toil and sat and conversed. He said to me in a secretive voice: "Do you know, perhaps just the two of us are now sustaining the entire world. Perhaps the Holy One, blessed be He, is judging the world right now. And mankind's sins are being considered, and they outweigh the good. "Now the angel Michael, the one defender out of a thousand, picks up the words of our Torah learning and places them on the scale, and our words of Torah help outweigh the other side. If so, we have merited to sustain the entire world. And we are still just children. This is the first year that I am wearing tefillin, and as for you, you are not even bar mitzvah." As he spoke, I was lifted to the highest worlds. I could see,
almost with my own eyes, the heavenly host: the fiery scale, the angels and cherubim. They were weighing the acts of humanity, and behold, they placed upon the scale the page of Chulin that we were learning, with the commentaries of Rashi, Tosafot and the Maharsha. And this page gave merit to the entire world." As I sat, submerged in my visions, Avraham Yitzchak's voice continued. I heard him say with great simplicity: "A day will come when and I will be great in Torah. And then..." He touched me so that I would turn to him, and I saw his face burning, his eyes brilliant and sparkling like fiery coals set in milk. And he whispered: "I will go to the land of Israel, to the holy city of Jerusalem, and I will found a yeshiva there, like Kerem Beyavneh. And students from all over the world will gather there, and 'from Jerusalem will come forth Torah.'" These were the youthful dreams of Rav Kook. These were his desires and yearnings when he had just become bar mitzvah. Malachim Kivnei Adam, pp. 4-5
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TZADDIK (HOLY PERSON)

Eternal Matters That Transcend Time To those of great understanding, time is not seen as relating to the past (as it appears to most people). As a result, the things of this world, even the most important, claim no place with them. In their study, therefore, they are compelled to turn always to eternal matters that transcend time: divine matters and supernal spirituality. Such people are those who love God, who walk in the light of His countenance constantly. Arpelei Torah, p. 53 The Actions of Exalted Souls Every action of exalted souls is united with their thoughts. This unity is great within them. Their actions are not symbolic, merely revealing their thoughts. Rather, their actions are literally revelations of life as those revelations appear on the level of the physical world. Those actions correspond literally to the revelation of thought within the world of intellect and thought. All of this holy, exalted glory and beauty makes its appearance. It is a product of the supernal and wondrous unification in the heights o that exalted state. There, the lights and containers are of one material, one type, one being. He, His lifeforce and His self are one within them. Then the words of such an exalted soul are alive, enduring, faithful and lovely--forever and ever. Orot Hakodesh III, p. 96 Emptiness There are souls to whom clinging to the divine is the foundation of their life. When they maintain only a minimal
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involvement with the Torah and its commandments, they feel a depth of suffering that stems from an emptiness affecting the quality of their souls. Such people are able to comprehend the great destruction wrought by evil-doers, those who forget God. Such people can comprehend to what a degree these evil people's image is marred, and how truly pitiable they are--these people who, wise in their own eyes and believing that they lack nothing, follow the dictates of their evil heart. Orot Hakodesh IV, p. 447 Everything Shall Rise The paths of this world, its ways and customs, oppose the mighty manifestation of the secrets of the Torah. Nevertheless, the righteous prevail over everything. They live their lives with scrupulous perfection, in accordance with the verse, "The secret of Hashem goes to those who fear Him." In truth, the entire world is subjugated to them on an inner level--even during times of concealment. Ultimately, the honor and spiritual reign of the righteous, who stand always before God, will reach all the glory of its revelation. The righteous themselves realize that in truth the world and all its customs, which appear so opposed to the light that is supernal and divine, and to its eternal demands, really support and sustain it, and are dependent upon it. Everything proclaims glory and song without cease to the supernal holiness of God. Just as the praise of the Holy One, blessed be He, rises from the righteous, so does it rise from the wicked. Just as the praise of the Holy One, blessed be He, rises from the Garden of Eden, so does it rise from Gehinnom. In the end, everything shall rise, shall be sweetened and sanctified. The wisdom of the righteous rings out before them in an exhilaration of inspired spirit. They see the future in the light of present being. In this way, they give life to the present with the
light of the future, drawing the pleasantness of the world-to-come into this world. Thus, they increase peace and blessing, serenity and Edenic refinement. All beings and life are blessed and refined, elevated and sanctified, saturated with the dew of life, and filled with the blessings of worlds. Arpelei Torah, p. 79 The Supernal Treasure Some people are so saintly, so great is their tendency toward supernal holiness, that their hearts are empty of any love for this world. They lack even that portion of love for this world that is fit to exist in a person's heart. As a result, they find imperfection in their human character, and they cannot be leaders in this world. And so they must retrieve their love for this world. They do so through prayer, which deals with impermanent things; and through the in-depth study of Jewish law and this-worldly discussions of the Torah, in all their detailed ramifications. Then they have a love for the world that becomes a love of holiness, and which unites with the love of Torah. Through these people, the world is elevated. As far as these supernal tzaddikim, these individuals of the spirit, are concerned, the things of this world can claim no place of importance. These people correctly assess what the supernal treasure and illumination is, and their intent is to cultivate it continuously and draw it into the entire world. It is an absolute truth that their service is not at all the same as the paths of service of others, who are constantly enclosed within the confines of this world and its desires, within the prisons of the body and its proclivities. When we see something in them that astonishes us, we should have no critical thoughts, for all their ways flow from a very exalted holiness. Orot Hakodesh III, p.305
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Natural Men Holy people in truth must be natural men, for whom all the qualities of the nature of the body and spirit partake of the quality of life and health. In their ascent, they are able to raise along the world and all its being. Arpelei Torah, p. 16
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RABBI KOOK
What Rabbi Kook Was by Rabbi Dovid Hacohen (the Nazir) People speak and write without end about what Rav Kook was. But no matter how much they write and speak, no one can reveal what he was, because he transcended anything that one could say of him. Rabbi Dovid Hacohen (the Nazir), Likutei Harayah, p. 17 A Good Jew by Rabbi Yisrael Porat Usually, a person who has become famous is treated with awe and respect by those who are far from him and have an exaggerated idea about him. But when they come to know him better, their impression diminishes. They see many things that are understandable and not so wondrous. Everyone has weaknesses and failings. But Rav Kook was different. The more you stood in his presence, the more you saw how he conducted himself, the more you heard him speak, the more did he rise beyond your comprehension. You came to honor and respect him, to roll in the dust of his feet. Before you, you saw the immense phenomenon of a giant, a man with a mind that was encompassing and penetrating, a "good Jew" [a tzaddik] in the full meaning of the word, and a man in his full stature. Likutei Harayah, p. 17 A Visionary by Prof. S. H. Bergman Rav Kook was a great visionary. In his mind's eye, he saw many things that we cannot. But he did not know how to control
the flow of his visions and to arrange them in accordance with an ordered philosophical system. Nevertheless, each of his small essays is filled with lightning flashes, and from that viewpoint it surpasses methodical presentations. This drawback of methodology and order is a great stumbling block to those who try to explain his thoughts to others. But this does not detract from the great wealth of his visions." Likutei Harayah, p. 40 Not Because I Have the Strength Rav Kook once wrote, "I write not because I have the strength to write, but because I do not have the strength to remain silent." Likutei Harayah, p. 43 The Rabbi of the Era by Rabbi Alter Yaakov Shachrai The acute writer, Rabbi Alter Yaakov Shachrai wrote regarding Rav Kook's unique post as chief rabbi of the entire land of Israel. This was in 5685 (1924), when Rav Kook returned from his trip to the United States, which had made such a great impression. This article was printed in Ha'aretz: "Rav Kook is the rabbi of all of the land of Israel--not because the committee of rabbis and representatives of the communities from Dan to Be'er Sheva appointed him as head of the rabbis. He is the natural rabbi of the land of Israel because in our generation, there is no one amongst all the rabbis of Israel as fit as he for that post. Therefore this merit is his alone. "The people of Israel are not orphaned of great rabbis, pure of heart and of elevated character. But the land of Israel has found its rabbi, its spiritual leader and religious teacher, only in Rav Kook. "He is the rabbi of the era. Whoever has seen Rav Kook
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stand on stage and speak with grandeur, whoever has read his works and seen the lights and illuminations flashing and rising from the lines must realize that here the generation's spiritual and religious leader speaks to it, that here the prophet of the spiritual and religious renewal speaks to it." Chayei Harayah, p. 162 A Gushing Wellspring by Rabbi Eliezer Cohen Rabbi Eliezer Cohen of Jerusalem told me: From the time that I was quite young, I always ran to hear the talks of Rav Kook. Even then, I felt that he is like a gushing wellspring, and I realized that he did not say anything that he had prepared ahead of time, but that his words were new even as he spoke. Once he spoke in Yeshiva Eitz Chaim, juxtaposing many statements of Rabbi Meir from in the Talmud. The great scholars there were astonished at his amazing memory and breadth of thought. "In this great man of Israel were combined abilities that usually do not appear together: his memory was extraordinary. On his lips were not only the Bible and Talmud, but also the language of the Zohar, of Rambam, and so forth. And with that, he was also a well of original ideas. When his wellspring began to flow, it was difficult for him to interrupt it. Whoever touched upon any halachic or aggadic statement, in revealed or mystic teachings, or in ethical teachings, his wellspring began to pour forth almost without constraint. The current of his thoughts flowed without limit. Even more astonishing, all his talks and speeches, whether in intricate Talmudic discussions, whether ethical talks and ideas, were given without preparation. He once wrote, 'I write not because I have the strength to write, but because I do not have the strength to remain silent.' We saw that he would interrupt his words and his writing not because he had no more to say and to
write, but because that he had to at last stop" Rabbi Y. M. Tukatzinsky, Shaarei Zion, Sivan-Elul 5696 (1936) Likutei Harayah, p. 43 More Thought The poet Uri Tzvi Greenberg once told Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Neriah: "One section of Rav Kook's Orot Hakodesh contains more thought than entire books written by non-Jewish thinkers." Malachim Kivnei Adam, p. 373 A Voice Coming from Heaven by Professor Haim Lifshitz Rabbi Dov Ber, one of the early students at Merkaz Harav, told the following: AI was a boy when I first came to Merkaz Harav. But the image of Rav Kook has never left me, from then until this day. Rav Kook used to teach in the yeshiva in a loud voice. Every word that he pronounced was clear and distinct, as though you were listening to a voice coming from heaven. I felt in my heart as though I understand everything that I heard from his mouth, in halachah and in philosophy. AAnd Rav Kook=s ability to explain was extraordinary. The moment he looked at you and opened his mouth, you felt as if you were standing before the ultimate truth, and that you were hearing Torah from Mt. Sinai. His words were joyous, and they made the heart rejoice. AToday, when you read Rav Kook=s writings, it is hard to understand the difficult style. You have to read the words through twice and three times, in order to understand their meaning. And not everyone can understand what he reads. ABut then it was different. Rav Kook would pour forth ideas, thoughts and words. His only desire was to give: to give of his wealth, of himself and of his being, to impart to others from
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who he was.@ Shivchei Harayah, p. 175 The Letter of a Young Idealist by Rabbi Tzvi Yehudah Kook Rav Kook's only son, Rabbi Tzvi Yehudah, sent the author Yosef Chaim Brenner his father's work, Ikvei Hatzoan, accompanied by a letter in which he explained his father's teachings and attitude to the Zionist aliyah and the religious old guard of Jerusalem. The letter was sent in 1907. Brenner was living in London, and employed as editor of Hameorer. Rabbi Tzvi Yehudah was at the time only seventeen years old. I request that you not only read this book but study it deeply and respectfully. Superficiality is harmful to understanding the intent of words of deep wisdom. When you read it over and over again, I believe that you will gain new insights and even new ways of viewing the world. I am sending you this book not to sell it or because the author is my father and I love my father's ideals and wish to see them publicized. Rather, I send it to you as a member of our young generation, one of the idealists who sends a sweet gift to someone who I have heard of as someone like me and close to my spirit. In explanation of the book, let me tell you that my father is one of the most pious rabbis. Besides being a genius in Torah, he is also a tzaddik. Nevertheless, at the same time he is a philosopher whose thought tolerates no obstacles whatsoever. He has deeply investigated and studied the teachings of the non-Jewish philosophers, penetrated the foundations of our Torah and come to the inner chambers of the kabbalah. With a torn and upset heart, he has seen and understood how his nation, which he loves so deeply, is broken and torn to shreds. And he has come to recognize the source of these evils as a lack of recognition of Jews for each other, of their distance from
each other, their inability to truly appreciate each other's gifts and ideals. The elders of Judaism have been identified with a hatred of life, with laziness, and other such traits. On the other hand, the elderly view those who seek enlightenment, wisdom and animated yearnings as synonymous with heresy, apostasy and a contempt for the holy.... The breaches that this have caused have broadened to such a degree that our situation today is worse than it has ever been. Three years ago, my father came to the land of Israel and saw the full ugliness of this breach. He decided to mount the community podium and work for the good of his people with all his strength. With his eloquent pen, he publishes his thoughts in many forums, and with his articulate speech, he communicates with those who are fit. Despite his many obstacles--in particular, from the older generation--he has already accomplished much. For instance, he has set up a vocational center in the Talmud Torah here in Yaffa, in order to teach the students crafts. Whoever lives here knows how great a step that is. Young individuals have answered his call here and outside the land. His influence of the new generation, which recognizes his unique worth, has been great. He stands as the touchstone between the two sides, bringing forth the good in each, and seeking to bring them together and to make them recognize each other as brothers. Most of all, he wishes Judaism, its character and its details to be understood. Malachim Kivnei Adam How Rav Kook Relaxed by Rav Moshe Tzvi Neriah Rav Kook once explained: When the philosopher Kant wanted to relax from his philosophical investigations, he studied geography. He would say, "Since I am a man of abstractions, I relax and renew my energy
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when I study concrete things, such as mountains, rivers, cities, towns, and so forth." I am like that too. By nature, I am a man of thought and feeling. When I need to relax, I learn halachah, and then I feel that my feet are standing on solid ground. Likutei Harayah, p. 427 How Rav Kook Read the Newspaper by Rav Moshe Tzvi Neriah I never saw Rav Kook sitting and reading a newspaper. Every morning, after prayers, on his way from the beis medrash to his room, while he was still in tefillin and tallis, he would stop at the window opposite the door of his little room, where the newspaper, Doar Hayom, was placed regularly (and into which we too would peek while Rav Kook was giving his lesson in mishnah to the laymen's minyan). Rav Kook would pick up the paper and quickly scan the outside pages--and at times the inner pages as well. At most, he devoted a few minutes to this. In this way he completed his daily newspaper reading. [It goes without saying that the newspaper of Rav Kook's time had no immodest illustrations and no degraded, sensationalist articles.] Only once did I see him read the paper with gravity, sitting down. This was a special edition of Doar Hayom presenting the White Paper of Lord Passfield, which gave the deathblow to the Balfour Resolution [which had presented the British government's support of a Jewish state]. This edition appeared in the evening. When Rav Kook's son, Rav Tzvi Yehudah, saw it on his way home from the yeshiva, he brought it immediately to his father. Rav Kook read the words carefully, and immediately upon finishing composed a sharp response, an inspiring proclamation, a powerful statement to the nation: "my great people, the nation of the living God and eternal
King." It was sent to the printer that evening. The next day, even before the responses of the national organizations were published, Rav Kook's statement had already appeared in Jerusalem on the poster boards. In this way, Rav Kook strengthened the depressed spirits upon whom the White Paper had descended like a shock. Likutei Harayah, pp. 428-29 In the months of Rav Kook's final illness, when he was offered him a newspaper, he refused to look at it. He said: "In essence, I have no connection to ephemeral events, but I am given over to deep thoughts of eternal life. However, my position and responsibility obligated me to keep up with events and to know what was happening. But in my present situation, I am free from this, and I can devote this time to learning Torah." Likutei Harayah, p. 429 The Stature of Rav Kook by Rabbi Gedaliah Aharon Koenig I heard my father, Rabbi Eliezer Mordechai, praise Rav Kook a great deal and speak of his genius and piety, from the time that I was young until I became father to my first-born daughter. And with my own eyes, I saw him protest against any insult to Rav Kook. With my own ears, I heard him cry out with all his strength in his old age, out of a true pain in his heart, against the abuse of Rav Kook's opponents. This was the story: In the summer of 5692 (1931), my brother, the first-born of my mother, Rabbi Yosef Hillel, was engaged to the daughter of Rabbi Tzvi Blau, the brother of Rabbi Moshe Blau. About two weeks before the wedding, a few young men from the bride's family came to visit my father. He welcomed them graciously. It was his custom to receive everyone who came
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to his house and offer food and drink--and these were the bride's relatives. He assumed that they had come on some errand from her parents regarding the wedding plans. But they began speaking sharply. They told my father, "We have heard that you visit the house of Rav Kook. We are informing you that if you do not break your connection with him, we will call off the wedding." When he heard this, my father was shocked. He didn't argue with them at all. Instead, he immediately got up from his chair and shouted at them: "Low-lifes! Whom are you talking about? Such a holy man of Israel!" He lifted the chair as though he were about to throw it at them, and forced them out of his house. The men began to apologize that they hadn't meant to upset him. But my father stood firm: "My own pain I forgive you. But when you speak against a man who is so noble, who is head and shoulders above everyone else--that I do not have the authority to forgive. And I no longer want to see your faces." And he closed the door and left them outside until they left. It later became clear that those men had acted of their own accord, without speaking to the in-laws.... I also heard from my maternal grandfather, Rav Shmuel Yaakov, that when he once went to a pidyon haben with a friend, he was astonished to see Rav Kook and Rav Chaim Sonnenfeld [who were ideological opponents] sitting together at the head of the table. My grandfather was even more astonished when Rav Kook led the grace after meals. He held a goblet of wine. When a few drops spilled from his hands, Rav Sonnenfeld placed his hands under Rav Kook's hands to receive those drops, and he licked them repeatedly. My grandfather told me that from that time forward, he never believed any slander against Rav Kook. When he told me that story, I was young. The story is so deeply engraved in my mind that I cannot forget it. It sometimes seems to me that I
myself saw the incident. This is what I know from my parents regarding the sanctity and truthfulness of Rav Kook. I understood this matter more when I grew up and came close tot he teachings of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, "a river flowing from the wellspring of wisdom." I saw how the Evil One incites dissension in Israel, particularly amongst the wise and righteous of the generation. I saw how important it is to disbelieve any slander that is spoken about any unique one among them.... (Rabbi Koenig was one of the most respected leaders of Breslov Hasidism of the previous generation) Likutei Harayah, pp. 161-63 Straw by Simcha Raz When Rav Kook became chief rabbi of Jerusalem, members of the extremist circles rose against him and harassed him. But Rav Kook was, in the words of the sages, like those "who are insulted but do not insult, who hear themselves reviled but do not respond." Once, his enemies were especially provocative and insulted him publicly. The city was in an uproar. But Rav Kook, as usual, overlooked the insult and remained silent. "Rabbi," those close to him asked, "to such a degree?" Rav Kook responded, "I will tell you that in my heart, I know that I am not fit for the rabbinate of Jerusalem. Who am I to sit upon the rabbinical chair in the holy city, most of whose inhabitants are wise men and scholars, the masters of the generation and the pious of the world? "I am like a man who puts on shoes that are too big. What does he do? He stuffs them with straw. And thank God, here in Jerusalem we have a good deal of straw. And by its nature, straw is prickly...." Malachim Kivnei Adam, p. 201-02
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HOLIDAYS
The Joy of the Succah The succah is a very great joy: to such a degree that it cannot be permanent, but a temporary dwelling. But it stands in one place, because waves of light expressing that joy pour forth. One wave rises and with no interruption descends, and a second, new wave flows, one which is brighter and more joyful. It appears as if it is all one succah. But in truth, at every moment and fraction of a moment, there is literally a new succah. And since the joy is new and the newness is constant, this is "the time of our joy." Arpelei Torah, quoted in Moadei Harayah, p. 95 Hakafot in Zoimel The following is a remarkable story of hakafot on Simchat Torah from the time of Rav Kook's first position as rabbi of Zoimel: After shacharis and Hallel, when the people were getting ready for the hakafot, Rav Kook stood and asked them to accompany him outside. There, he began to sing, and danced around the synagogue, followed by the congregants. They circled the synagogue seven times. And then Rav Kook led everyone back into the synagogue. He stood on the platform and proclaimed: "Dear Jews, those hakafot were in memory of the conquest of Jericho. In the same way, we will reconquer our land. When we will be united and linked as one chain, walls will fall before us, and we will go up to Zion with song, and to Jerusalem and our Temple with eternal joy." Hakafot in Jerusalem
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The following description of the preparation for the holiday and the joy of the first hakafot in 5688 (1928), was given us by the writing of Rav Chaim Karlinsky: Hoshanah Rabbah in the evening. The sun is sinking in the west, the shadows are falling, and dusk descends upon the face of the beautiful city. Jerusalem is dressed in a holiday spirit, in honor of Shemini Atzeret. It is still early, yet there is already a crowd in Yeshiva Mercaz Harav--the yeshiva of Rav Kook. Men and women, dressed in their holiday clothing, their faces shining, push forward, trying to get a place at the front in order to see the hakafot of Rav Kook and his students. Meanwhile, the students and elite of Jerusalem cluster around Rav Kook in the succah next to the yeshiva. In the atmosphere suffused by an elevated spirit, they listen to the farewell blessing of Rav Kook, as he takes leave of the holy ushpizin with soulful longing. His face Kook shines like a flash of supernal light as he speaks of the holiness of the ushpizin and the holiness of the Torah. His voice is soft and heartfelt. Every word is a song, and every phrase a melody. As the students gaze at his face, their hearts experience a holy trembling. After the recitation of "Atah hareitah" is finished, the hakafot begin. Rav Kook, the chief cohen, is given the honor of the first hakafah, and he is handed a sefer Torah. Rav Kook stretches out his sensitive fingers and takes the Torah with holy trembling. He brings it to his heart, embraces it in his arms and lifts it to his lips--"the clinging of spirit to spirit"--as his eyes well with tears of joy. He is seen by the crowd, but he does not see them. He unites in his spirit with the Giver of the Torah, from his entire soul and being... Then he opens his eyes and looks at the Sefer Torah embraced in his arms. He gazes at it for a few moments, and
begins to murmur a tune filled with yearning: "my soul is thirsty for You, my flesh yearns for You"; "my heart and my flesh will sing to the living God." Like an electric current, Rav Kook's emotional voice passes through the crowd. A hush hovers over the yeshiva, and the students who stand close to their rabbi fall back. His entrancing song of the spirit pours out calmly, with clinging to God. It makes the heart sing and embraces the soul. Rav Kook's eyes sparkle and his face shines with the beauty of holiness and its glory. From moment to moment, his enthusiasm grows ever stronger with his song. The longing for God streams forth with the joy of the heart, and he dances a dance of supernal cleaving. His body hovers in the air, his feet touch but do not touch the stone floor, and his soul soars in the world of yearning, filled with the illumination of holiness and God's Presence. Rav Kook's dance and his emotion-filled song inspire the congregation with a stream of enthusiasm, and they draw him with great emotion into a mitzvah dance. The hands of young and old intertwine, they surround Rav Kook and dance in a circle. Then circle grows ever larger and becomes a circle within a circle. Hundreds of feet lift and descend in rhythm, and from the mouths of the dancers bursts a new song: "Rejoice on your holiday, and be only joyful." Then, when the hakafot are ended, silence falls upon the yeshiva. Rav Kook speaks of the precious glory of the Jewish soul, filled with light and beauty in its supernal source, and which--only when it unites with the body and its earthly energies--gets entangled in the war of this-worldly life and descends dreadfully. But nevertheless, the people of Israel are holy, and in the joyful moments of a mitzvah, their souls again cling to the original source. Rav Kook speaks of the spiritual connection shared by Israel, the Torah and the Holy One, blessed be His name. He speaks about the holiness of the land of Israel and the generation of revival. His face is aflame and his eyes like lightning...
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Suddenly, a new song of great joy breaks through the yeshiva hall: tens of workers and settlers, members of Hapoel Hamizrachi, following their leader, push their way through the crowded assembly. From the people come outcries: "Silence! Respect! The rav is speaking!" But Rav Kook smiles with heartfelt love, like a father who enjoys the naughtiness of his children. Rav Kook recognizes these "arrogant" people, who work with hoe and trowel, in the field and in construction, and who after a day of hard work sit late in the beis medrash, learning the perfect Torah of Hashem. And he interrupts his speech and goes forth to great them, joins their song, and again dances in a circle with the sons who are building the land of the fathers, and rebuilding the ruins of Jerusalem. The dancing settlers cluster around Rav Kook, as beloved to them as their soul, and lift him. One of them cries out, quoting the piyut of Yom Kippur: "Like the sight of the lightning flashing from the angels!" And in response, everyone replies: "So is the sight of our rabbi, the great cohen." "Like the holiness of the holy headband!" "So is the sight of our rabbi, the great cohen." "Like the planet of Venus on the eastern horizon!" "So is the sight of our rabbi, the great cohen." And indeed, like the sight of the cohen gadol, the man of God, holy and pure, was the sight of Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Hacohen Kook, of blessed memory, at the time that he rejoiced in the joy of a mitzvah: "the joy of the Torah." The Three Levels of Hanukkah Observance On Hanukkah, the sages established that the mitzvah of the Hanukkah menorah may be kept in different forms: the basic mitzvah, mehadrin (beautification) and mehadrin min hamehadrin
(beautification of the beautification). This is an approach that applies to no other mitzvah. After the great spiritual disaster, "when the kingdom of Greece ruled over us," we were deeply weakened. Then the spiritual power of Mattityahu and his sons awoke. The yearning for governmental independence began to spread its influence, and they proclaimed the freedom of the nation. That proclamation itself had a great elevation and holiness in opposition to the flood of Greek assimilation. In essence, the yearning for national-governmental independence in itself brings about an opposition to assimilation and absorption into a ruling, subjugating nation. But without "Your holy cohanim," who contributed substance to that yearning for self-government, there would be no power to fight and stand firm in the midst of difficult wars. This is what the Holy One, blessed be He, showed us in the miracle of the flask of oil: it was precisely the small flask of the pure oil, sealed with the seal of the cohen gadol, that had the power to illumine and draw a great light into the soul of the entire nation. It was that that contributed the strength to fight and attain victory. Since there were various levels in people's desires for the redemption of Israel and in their understanding of the content of that redemption, this mitzvah was established with various levels: the mitzvah itself, its beautification and a beautification of the beautification. The clear intent of the sages of the generation was to cause the content of holiness to penetrate into all levels and areas of life, despite the Greek culture of assimilation that harmed the foundation of faith. The Greeks had decreed, "Write on the horn of an ox that you have no portion in the God of Israel" (Bereishis Rabbah 2:5), and they had outlawed mention of the name of God. In response, the court of the Chashmonaim decided to insert the name of God even into contracts (Rosh Hashanah 18b). That is, they decided to insert the flow of holiness even into mundane life, to attain the basis of faith even in physical business affairs. In
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this way, they would live the verse, "in all your ways, know Him." And in this way, the pure light shone in all corners of life: "and to all Israel, there was light in their dwelling places." Moadei Harayah, pp. 180-81 The Light of Chanukah Chanukah contains the influence of the most supernal future days. For this reason, the word Chanukah is in the passive form: it is receiving. Chanukah expresses the form of all the lights that must shine within the nation: the light of Torah, the light of prophecy, the light of wisdom, the light of justice, the light of strength, the light of joy, the light of kindness, the light of love, and so forth. Before we are able to recognize the supernal essence of life, these many lights appear to us separately, as though they are fragmented. Sometimes, they must maintain that separate stance so that their union will not annihilate the individual forms. At times, this separation brings about disagreement. One person may be drawn to a particular light. It seems to him that anyone who turns to the other lights diminishes the character of the light that he so much loves, and whose preciousness he so particularly recognizes. Because every individual takes pride in strengthening and fortifying that good aspect to which his soul is drawn, there is universal improvement, and increasing betterment. But these separations will not last forever. As long as there are such differences in viewpoint, holiness will not gain a basis in the world. The essential blessing is that of peace. And that will exist in the future when everyone has the clear awareness that all the lights, with all their particulars, are really one light. And so the blessing on the Chanukah candles does not refer to "lights." This blessing, which raises our consciousness to the
most exalted distance, to a most supernal future that is sanctified in the strength of God, refers rather to a single "light" of Chanukah. Olat Harayah, p. 435 Eight Days The usual figure that indicates complete comprehensiveness is a week of seven days. The utmost of all that is elevated and of the holiness of the name of Hashem and His good desire in the world will be revealed only in the future--a future to which all varieties of holiness turn. However, the way the force of the future approaches is revealed in the present as well. It will [continue to] be revealed by the wondrous developments of the Jewish people, which comprise a universal riddle to which there is no solution apart from the elevated destination of the future. That is why the Sabbath is intertwined with the totality of present, continuous time, as it alludes to a day that is entirely a Sabbath of comfort and holiness. This teaches that in the midst of present time, the impression of the future is already prepared and apparent to our senses. The Greeks sought to blind the light of the world. They darkened the eyes of Israel and filled the world with impulsiveness and hooliganism. This was founded on the principle of taking the image of the present bereft of any future goal. Finally, they influenced the evil sects that came forth from us to say that there is only one world. Because of these sects, in the Temple the phrase Aforever@ was changed to Aforever and ever@ (Ber. 54a)--[indicating specifically the spiritual world]. When times are rectified and the eyes of the mind are clear, it suffices to say Aforever,@ and the future is already within this scope. But because they blackened the light of truth, the future goal must be explicitly stated, even though bleary eyes do not recognize it from the present. Nevertheless, the word of our God will stand forever. We already know the future goal through prophecy, the inheritance of Israel. It is clear to us even in a time of darkness,
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when the eyes of flesh cannot concretely see the power of the future in the midst of the present. During a time that is clear and bright, the one statement, Aforever,@ suffices to include the future as well. [In such a time,] a seven-day Hanukkah would suffice, comprising a comprehensiveness of the present that already includes the Sabbath, which alludes to and prepares for the day that is entirely Sabbath. But at the time of the descent caused by the marauding Greeks, who blurred the clarity of the present so that one could not discern from its midst the glorious future, when the light of Hashem and His honor will be revealed in the world, Aand the idols will entirely pass away@ (Isaiah 2:18), it became necessary to strengthen the principal Jewish gaze, so that it would not be constricted in the present like that of the Greeks, heaven forbid. [It became necessary] to make Hanukkah eight days--that is to say, one day was added to the usual comprehensiveness of the present, to tangibly indicate that all our goals will be revealed and become real only in the future, when time in its fullness will emerge from its lowliness and the world will be healed from its blindness and evils, both general and particular. That is the goal of Israel and the goal of the light of the Temple. Therefore, AThe days of Hanukkah are eight.@ As is clearly stated: Aforever and ever.@ Ein Ayeh Two Visions of Holiness God granted victory to His servants, the cohanim, and they overcame the Greeks. The Greeks had sought not only to uproot the Jewish people in a physical sense but also to uproot that content of life that the Jewish people proclaim to the world, and which must be in accord with the roots of Torah: that the primary goal in family life must be purity and modesty. All other Jewish traits and viewpoints devolve from this. Seeing this, the Greeks they hated it and viewed it as a foe and enemy of their culture. They had set up as their insignia the gaiety of life and its physical and illusory pleasures. And so the Greeks harbored great hatred for
the Torah of Israel. Even if a Jew is not outstanding, but he proceeds on the middle path that governs a Jewish life, the light of Judaism, purity and modesty, the faith and all traits that branch out of this for the good may be recognized in his life. They are recognized and praised by all in the entire house of Israel who act in accordance with the paths of Torah and mitzvos. Thus, Athe mitzvah of the light of Hanukkah is one flame for a man and his wife.@ Then there are outstanding Jews. Their very lives stand ready to impart the experience of the divine holiness, whose seal has been placed upon them by the complete Torah. They are fit to be Athe zealous ones who light one candle for each individual.@ If such a person is outstanding in guarding his ways well, in accordance with religion and Torah, [then] glory and beauty, and the light of Torah that accompanies him, can be recognized in his life as an individual. In him, the verse is fulfilled: Aall the nations of the land will see that the name of Hashem is called upon you, and they will fear you@ (Devorim 28:10). These are outstanding individuals, all of whose paths are weighed on the scale of holiness, so that divine holiness is apparent not only in their general family life but in their individual lives. Amongst them are found holy people the entirety of whose lives is not self-improvement--not even for spiritual goodness, a life of the world-to-come. Instead, the entire burden of their spirit is the fulfillment of the desire of God in His world. There are two general paths (and each one is divided into two subsections) of how the miracle of Hanukkah awakens the heart of holy people and allows them to follow it to their exalted desire. There is a great person who looks with a penetrating eye at the desire of God in His world. He recognizes that the Master of all souls created man (in his entirety) in His image, and all beings in the image of God. It must then be that He created [them] to ultimately bestow good upon them, so that they will rise from the
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depth of evil and foolishness surrounding them and they will all be fit for the stature of those righteous ones who take pleasure in God and His goodness. God has [especially] prepared the Jewish people to receive the divine light in the world. But the goal that gives joy to the heart of all those who are straight-hearted will be complete only when this purpose, being fulfilled by the Jewish people, will [thus] benefit all people of the world with the light of God and a holy life. From this point of view, the inner inclination that directs the hearts of those whose heart is straight to walk in the way of God, following the Torah, is due not only [to the fact] that it benefits the Jewish people in particular, but because of a more distant and illumined effect: because in the future, the goodness of Israel will bring goodness to all humanity. When such a viewpoint is strong in one=s heart, one can regard an outlook that limits the purpose of Torah deeds as being for the general good of the Jewish people as an outlook not sufficiently elevated, and which needs to rise yet higher and transcend the outlook of a specific love of Israel. To such a person, the source of his life cannot be the love of the [Jewish] nation, but the love of the name of God and His Torah--because in the Torah will be found this final goal, which is so elevated that this person considers the love of the [Jewish] nation [merely] as his means to his exalted goal. Then there is another path. The heart of this elevated person considers that self-love is not fitting for the most profound state [of being], even if [that self-love] broadens into a love of the entire [Jewish] nation. Rather, it is fitting to love goodness itself. Therefore, one should view this most exalted content of life as the purpose of life in general. Since the divine special quality is hidden in the Jewish people, certainly it is they who are fit to gain perfection to such an extent that their lives should be the envy of all good men--not out of the self-love of a person who cares for himself, but out of the essence of truth and straightness. If this is so, the special quality of the Jewish people should be the center of all spiritual life. And it is this upon which the purpose of the entire
Torah should be built. And automatically, there exists in the feeling, simple heart of love of the [Jewish] nation that which makes [love of the nation] a fitting content in the walkways of the Torah, since, even in line with the depth of divine justice, the ultimate purpose [regarding all mankind] will remain the goal of Israel. This is so because the ultimate purpose is not meant to measure up to the quantity of life but to its quality [unclear]. And that wondrous quality will remain the inheritance of Israel forever because of their having been divinely chosen, and because of their special quality. [Rav Kook then goes on to develop this idea parallel to the disagreement between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel. See there.] Ein Ayeh The Entire Torah: Vignettes of Purim Rabbi Naftali Stern told, "Once on Purim, when Rav Kook was in an elevated state after 'drinking accordingly,' he stood up on the table and called out in a loud voice and holy zeal: 'How can I bear it when I see the destruction of my birthplace?' (Esther 8:6.). This is the entire Torah." In his monthly epigrams, which Rav Kook published in the Eretz Hatzvi calendar (Yaffo, 5674), he wrote, "Those who make mention of the cities and walled towns from the days of Yehoshua bin Nun, will not be able to remain the slaves of Achashveirosh." Rabbi Uzi Klachheim elaborates on this epigram, based on the words of the Jerusalem Talmud (Megillah 1:1): "Why was the commemoration date of Purim made dependent on the days of Yehoshua bin Nun? They apportioned respect to the land of Israel." Rabbi Klachheim writes: "Those who are at the height of their success in the exile, recall the holy land, and raise it to the height of their joy, 'cannot remain the slaves of Achashveirosh,' they will not be satisfied with temporary successes in foreign lands, they will pray constantly from the depth of their heart for the return
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to Zion, for the return of the children to their border." Be'er Maggid Yerachim, p. 67
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LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET

The Primal Genesis The letter Alef awakens within us the thought of beginning, of the primal genesis. We gaze on its greatness and we are astounded at the preciousness of its vision. It speaks to us, speaking forever: to pay heed, to learn, to instruct. The Aramaic for "learning" is "ulpan"--a word built from "alef." The soul knows that whatever comes through learning is not original. What is original is the inner thought that is not expressed. That will surely be the inheritance of the world on the day "when a man will no longer teach his brother nor his comrade to know God, for all shall know Him, from the smallest to the greatest." Learning is a translation. It is the reverse side of the face of thought. It is not the soul's waking state, but its slumber. This is the lesson of the word "alef." It is pronounced similarly to the word "elef"--thousand. AThousand@ indicates the digit in the thousands column: the fourth column. The four columns are the singles, tens, hundreds, thousands. These correspond to the sealed thought, the abstract thought, the verbalized thought, and the thought as heard. Learning belongs in the fourth column: when the thought is heard, when one's ears are "pierced." This fourth level--which, the more it increases, decreases-is the upper point, or Ayod@ of the alef. It makes us mindful of the wealth and multiplicity expressed in the foundation of number when it increases. From it, we visualize the great glory of the union of multiplicity, and the greatness contained within [unity]. As a result of the wealth of multiplicity that comes from a greatness that in its power supports all multiplicity, all might, all increase, and all the limited-yet-growing that gushes from it, we see multiplicity actualized in the lower point: the lower line, the "yod" of the alef.
There is a firm connection between absolute multiplicity in the secret of elevated total oneness and limited oneness, which sets individualized words in their limits. But they do not directly touch each other. Only from a shining foundation that cannot be pointed out can the finite content touch the supernality that transcends all limits and straits. And so there comes forth a diagonal line, beginning from the upper left--that is to say, from that very quality of exalted power in pure supernality. [This line=s] purpose is to reduce [the power=s] strength, to darken light, in order that it may be seen and shine in the eyes of all finite beings, that it may be grasped by sight and recognition. As a result, light flows forth. And whatever descends is more right-sided--that is, the greatness of its might is more revealed in the lower worlds. Above this diagonal, the upper quality of united multiplicity reaches out with a gentle and soft touch that suffices according to the strength of life in it to fill everything with life and a flow of being. From below, there comes to this diagonal a content that is more refined and fine than increasing multiplicity, which is finite and divides into endless branches that build worlds of worlds without number. And they unite in one bloc, and there shines the flash of light of the first of the lights: the alef in its written form. The weak recognition within translation, the Aramaic "ulpan" [corresponding to Aalef,@ when the word Aalef@ is spelled out] comes to the letter lamed [the second letter in Aalef@ when it is spelled out], the holy tongue. The two of them together liberate language. They free the power of speech from its prison. [The third and last letter when Aalef@ is spelled out is pey.] "He will be for a mouth"--but it nevertheless is still imprisoned in the height of its silent oneness, saying the "pey" with a [silent] alef in place of peh with a pronounced "heh." The alef in its pronounced form presents us with the image of the ox [Aelef@ also means ox], the animal of power and service,
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which bears the yoke, from whose strength come the life-giving crops. The majority of crops are grown with the power of the ox. All the spiritual strength that comprises the crowd of images that come and diverge is included in the power of the beginning form in which everything is included. The power of its strength is revealed in individual creations, which are ever revealed--@join one to another, to make an account@ Kohelet 7:27). Rosh Milin The House The letter beit means Ahouse.@ Once there is an existence of content, of initial form, it is Athe glory of a man to sit in the house.@ For the forms coming into being, for the multitude of strength streaming forth, we must prepare a container: a beit kibul. This [comprises] a roof and seal that ensure that the light will not appear in its abstract form. These are antecedents of the material that will be built, the container that will be established, which will have character and utility. The open side of the beit does not face the alef. [It does not] correspond to the abstract form that includes everything within itself. [Rather, the beit] corresponds to the wealth to come. It grows limited (in some sense of the term, at any rate) so that it can enter [the realm of] description and account. The [horizontal] walls [of the letter beit] make a division above and below. That which is above is beyond any limitation. [There,] exalted flight pervades, without boundary and constriction. That which is below all limitation is like that which is above all limitation. There too, exalted flight pervades without limit. [The terms] Aabove@ and Abelow@ relate to [such] concepts only where limitations rule. The establishment of a situation where the unlimited light
will not penetrate and weaken all character-related, limited forms requires a sturdy structure, a unit strong as concrete. However, we are also engaged in putting boundaries to its sides. It is true that the content that provides confinements turns to the broad multitude of those that are finite, which pour forth, arriving like an outpouring of water. However, not all that is finite is revealed in a form of being. There must still be a thin separation that divides and holds back this weak force, so that it will not penetrate any place where it is not appropriate. It is fitting that the form that will remain in a hidden manner, in the depth of silence, is held back by a reed fence, a thin separation, without penetrating to the boundaries that must gain image and be revealed--neither above nor below all that are limited. This is the content that hides in the depth of the secret of being. It stands at the side of and on the level of all that comes into being--but it is held back. A hedge of roses prevents it from breaking through. AYour belly is a heap of wheat enclosed in roses@: the right-hand, thin wall of the beit. Rosh Milin
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ANIMAL KINGDOM
The Life-force of All Species We find wondrous abilities in animals that at times astonish us. We can reproduce these only after great and long study. Even then, however, we can only approximate those achievements. What gives these animals their abilities? The lights of the life-force of all species are fragments of a great, supernal soul filled with wisdom and ability, which has been divided into many branches. The glow of this great soul, which contains wondrous wisdom and ability, shines upon each branch in a minute amount-like a drop of water from the sea. Still, because the point comes from the all-encompassing basis of wisdom and an ability that is mighty and exalted, its essential impression can never be eradicated. The impression brings forth its ability in accordance with the profound greatness of that wisdom; in accordance with the measure that [the wisdom] had had when it had been enclosed and connected--with a connection of a perfect life--to its perfect source; when [the wisdom] had been the content of the crown of wisdom, arranged precisely by the Supernal Consciousness. Orot Hakodesh I:358
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JEW AND GENTILE

Torah and Greek Wisdom Our Sages have commented on the relationship between the nation of Israel and the other nations: their wisdom, customs and manners. They pointed out (Sanhedrin 39b) two contradictory verses by the prophet Ezekiel. In one verse, he accuses the Jews: "you have acted in accordance with the laws of the nations in your midst" (Ez. 11:12). Yet elsewhere he accuses them: "you did not act in accordance with the laws of the nations in your midst you" (ibid. 5:7). The Sages reconciled these two verses: you did not act like the best but like the most degraded of the gentiles. However, even acting like the best of the gentiles requires a good deal of care, so that we will not be drawn to ultimately follow their degraded ways as well. The faithful basis of such action is that we carefully guard our spirit and heart. If at times we see something good, an honest way of action, a decree that promulgates civilization amongst the nations, and we take this and bring it into our border, we should remain careful not to allow the spirit of the nations in its entirety enter the content of our inner life. Once the spirit of the nations enters the life of Israel, there is no stopping or withstanding it. At that point, the spirit of Israel has been removed from its place, and a stranger sits on its throne. The spirit of Israel must be strong and set in our heart. The Torah, mitzvos and all the holy attributes connected to [the Torah] must be our treasure and strength. In regard to an external and secondary aspect of life, in regard to a present need and a current civilization, we may at times take from every good thing that we find amidst the nations surrounding us. But our spirit within must remain strong and faithful to the God of Israel and His Torah. It is not that the nations enter our boundary and touch our inheritance. Rather, either we go to take from them or else they bring us what we must receive from them: "the beauty of Greece in the tents of Shem"
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(Yoma 10a). When the spirit of Greece broke into the depth of the holiness of Israel, impressing a new character upon the Jewish spirit and new yearnings in the innerness of Jewish life, in accordance with the Greek outlook--when "they entered the heichal and defiled all the oils in the heichal"--they did not disqualify only those views and contents that had contact with the wild Greek culture, and were in consequence blemished. Rather, they influenced the entire structure of views and attributes, actions and teachings--spoiling their taste, pulling them down from their holiness and withholding their good and holy influence from the nation of God. This idea must serve as a foundation to teach us, in our exile and dispersion amongst the nations, how to relate to them, their wisdom and way of life. We must take care that those things assimilated from the atmosphere of the land of the nations not enter the inner part of our lives, which is sanctified with the holiness of the name of God after Whom we are named, so that we may not be led astray. We might think that the foreign stream will touch only a small part of the viewpoints and contents that are in accordance with the Torah. But we are aware only of the desecration of the portion visible to our eyes. We must separate and distance ourselves and carefully guard the path of true life in respect to even one portion of the spiritual pleasure of our lives and the light of our Torah that is desecrated by the touch of the stranger. Those weak in view will console themselves that they will live with the surplus. They will believe that there still remains a great mass of teachings of truth and laws of life before them that will sustain them, despite the lack that exists where the foreign spirit has bored into the depth of their inner life. [But this is not so.] As soon as the Greeks "entered the heichal," the foreign spirit entered within, coming upon the life of the Torah and holiness, wounding them and transforming them into the Greeks'
character: "they defiled all the oils in the heichal." They will not leave even one corner untouched. This foreign and destructive stream will spread like a serpent's venom through the entire body of the nation, spoiling its taste, faith and innocence. It will defile the anointing holy oil of the Torah, the power that sanctifies and illumines our darkness in all situations. Then, even if there remain individual acts of Torah amongst those who are seduced by the foreign spirit, these will be carried out only by rote. In the majority, only the secondary things will remain; the defiled oil will not have the strength to shine a holy light. Ein Ayah
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HISTORICAL FORCES
The Hasidic Movement Hasidism came to celebrate the holiness of character traits, the holiness of faith, a general awareness of the holiness of Israel and its high rank. It came to increase feelings of holiness, which had been slumbering in the heart of nature, by means of increasing appreciation for prayer. It was contested by an opposition deeply concerned that the practical foundation might totter as a result of an intensification of a tendency toward feeling; that the details, which support the totality, not grow blurred by a tendency toward holism; and that the power of imagination--which arouses by means of good, holy and true feelings--not overstep its bounds, bringing evil and bitter consequences to the entire nation for coming generations. These two forces engaged one another, each one intending to foster the goodness that it saw in the other, but according to its own unique character. Eder Hayakar, p. 25 Romanticism There is a love that matures refined souls and prepares them to perceive a most refined and elevated ethics. This is a noble feeling that contains holiness, beauty and glory. Although humanity yearns for this, it cannot yet know it in its essential purity, freshness and natural state. This exalted song and holiness can be expressed only when accompanied in a complete and perfected manner by all aspects of life: physical, ethical and intellectual. Only then may humanity rise to that complete freedom where its spiritual inclinations will proceed in completion of might and strength, spreading their wings to the full breadth of life--to all its facets--and finding no obstacle, no stumbling block. This wondrous vision is expressed by the faculty of the
general religious spirit that the nature of the human spirit contains. Only when humanity will be filled with power and might, spiritual recognition and knowledge, will it be able to remove from this feeling (which is the most active power in general, and which rules undeterred in each particular) all those stumbling blocks that hold it back and force it onto side roads. Only then will there appear, in exalted glory, its inner soul: the divine love that quickens us. As long as this trait remains in its Romantic form, we cannot draw pure water from it. We will be able to do so only when the world--physical, ethical, and intellectual--will be healed of all its illnesses. Eder Hayakar, p. 28
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JEWISH LITERATURE
Jewish Literature All holy thoughts and elevated knowledges sprout on the breadth of the field that God has blessed. And behold there rise constantly at every time and every hour, at every minute and at all intervals of a minute: new and wondrous plants, shoots and blossoms, as there rises constantly the influence of life to our eyes, and the influence of existence in general--all from the flow of the supernal intelligence It is impossible for Jewish literature to succeed without the sanctification of the souls of the authors. You must toil to purify your character, your acts and ideas--until your inner world is filled with light and you feel within a intimate completion, while still concerned to perfect all that is wanting, so that you may be filled with humility blended with power, with a tranquil spirit blended with a strong arousal (both emotional and rational)for imparting goodness and wisdom to yourself, and to be filled with an exalted desire to stand at the heights of purity and supernal holiness. As long as you do not stand at that height, you cannot truly be called an author. "The early authorities were called authors-they counted the letters of the Torah" (Hagigah 15). Counting the letters of the Torah raised them to an exalted level of a pure spirit and a strengthened soul, until they could be called: author. If we desire Jewish literature to live, we must go on that holy path, proceeding from holiness to literature. "There shall be a level path, and it will be called the path of holiness...and they will proceed, redeemed" (Isaiah 35). Orot Hatechiyah, 36
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SCIENCE
Liberated from Science If the new science will boast that it has been liberated from theology, it must know that theology has been correspondingly liberated from science, which had bound it in human chains. Indeed, a new name shall be given to the supernal state: not a name that human beings will fashion but a new name that the mouth of God shall designate. The theology that is liberated from the chains of science is prophecy, the unique property of Israel, which will speedily be revealed to us. Arpelei Torah, p. 40 When We Learn in Holiness When we learn in holiness, our will and wisdom together grow more refined. A divine glow emerges from our soul's intrinsic source, filling all its being. Spiritual life courses to our soul's extremities, like blood coursing to the extremities of the body. On the other hand, all secular learning, in whatever discipline it may be, merely enlivens the particular topic it is dealing with. From a quantitative point of view, this is the elemental difference between the holy and the secular. In addition, there is a qualitative difference between the two, which is on a much more elevated, indeed, an incomparable, plane. Orot Hatorah 6:1
In truth, All darkness Is merely diminished light. from Oros Hakodesh II, p. 455 ADDITIONAL, UNCATEGORIZED TEACHINGS: THE NEGLECT OF TORAH by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook On occasion, the times during which we neglect Torah act to illumine our eyes so that we may recognize the content of the holiness of the Torah and the depth of life that it pours forth upon those who learn it. Oros Hatorah 7:3
A GREAT AND DANGEROUS WAR

by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook At times, when we struggle to cling to supernal spirituality, all the forces of spiritual life ascend in the world of supernal thought. Our body is bereft of our soul, and as a result, we are ruled by evil traits. Afterwards, when have finished gazing and the force of life returns to its regularity, our soul finds our body broken, with all its qualities impaired. Then begins a very great and dangerous war. And so, repentance and the desire to purify our traits must precede the ascent of our gaze. Then these prepare some aspect of contact between the body and soul--even in the soul's supernal ascent. Arpelei Tohar, p. 16
THE ROOTS OF WHO YOU ARE

by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook When your intent declines because of some transgression, then wisdom also declines, and divine illumination is darkened. With a solid inner might, return to your power after this decline. Return to your place with the force of your intent. Illumine the light that was eclipsed within you and within the entire world, utilizing the entire size, depth and the breadth of all that pertains to the
roots of who you are. Arpelei Tohar, p. 108
LINED WITH LOVE

by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook [Preceding the messianic era,] just before the Aheels of the messiah,@ the special quality of oneness within the [Jewish] people increases. Good deeds, states of awareness and the divine light found within holy people affect the holiness of everyone more than at other times. This special quality is concealed within the camouflage of contention and argument. But Aits inner being is lined with love@ (Song of Songs) and with a wondrous unity that awakens a general sense of anticipating the emancipation of the entire nation. Arpelei Tohar, p. 108
A PROFUSION OF LIGHTS
by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook The ultimate goal of Israel is to gaze upon a rectified world under the kingdom of God, when all creatures will be joined together in one confederation for a life of righteousness in the light of God. Corresponding to this, it is understood that the multiplicity of national traits leading to division into many peoples will decrease as the light of truth and the life of righteousness appear. The more that nations approach the content of a life of divine Torah, the more will their separate traits decrease. This is alluded to in the words [of the house of Shammai], AOn the first day [of Hanukkah], we light eight candles. From then onwards, we decrease.@ The encounter with Greece and the victory of Israel both catalyzed Jewish destiny in relation to the nations of the world to make its way with greater strength, so that the most ultimate and uplifted goal could be connected to the [one] light of Hanukkah. The house of Hillel agrees that such a Jewish destiny exists. However, [it holds that] the highest life--which is the depth of the Torah=s intent in preparing Israel for its high station--is not [that the Jews will] merely be a tool for the entire world. Rather, the special quality of Israel is higher than anything else intrinsically. To a superficial gaze, the generations grow ever more impoverished--Athere is no day whose curse is not greater than its fellow@ (Sotah 49b). However, the inner special quality in the totality of Israel is not measured by the worth of every particular generation. Rather, it encompasses all generations, from beginning to end. Every generation that holds firm to the covenant with God--in particular, under the burden of the yoke of exile and great suffering--adds to the general special quality of the existence of this wondrous
nation, which has no equal under all the heavens. The basic principle is that even the great multitude of all the nations acts as a means for that special quality. And so existence will be crowned with [the Jewish nation] in the end of days, when it will be a complete nation prepared for a life of holiness on the highest and most exalted plane. This value is attached to the Hanukkah candle, which teaches that even the quantitative foundation that has taken significant first steps with the Hashmonaic victory over the Greeks is secondary to the qualitative foundation. AThe thought of Israel preceded everything@ (Bereishit Rabbah 1:4). Therefore, [according to the house of Hillel], Aon the first day, we light one candle. From then onwards, we increase.@ The light of Israel grows ever stronger. According to its greatness and might, paths increasingly diverge to every nation, according to its status. This is so even though the more truth shines, the more separation deceases. Nevertheless, natural differences still remain. In accordance with them, the light of Israel divides into particular lights, and their effect over [the nations] increases. The goal is not that which is recognized by the nations, which are decreasing and coalescing. It is in accordance with the worth welling forth from Israel, which increases differentiation and addition. This [worth] comprises the essential concept: that the special quality [of the Jewish people] constantly adds praise and glory, according to what every generation acquires and gives over to the general [spiritual] treasure house. At any rate, according to this approach of the house of Hillel, the outlook of Jewish nationalism has a firm basis in truth and in righteousness on the deepest and most ultimate level. Ein Ayeh A GOOD INCLINATION by Simcha Raz Dr. Folk Schlessinger was Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook=s physician in his last days. Close to the last Tisha B=Av of Rav Kook=s life, when he was very ill, he consulted Dr. Schlessinger about fasting on Tisha B=Av. Rav Kook told him, AMy evil inclination is telling me to fast, while my good inclination is telling me not to fast.@ Malachim Kivnei Adam BROKEN CISTERNS by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook We must clearly know that whatever may have something of idolatry in
it, if it has any beautiful content--whether physical, or even spiritual--that is only from its superficial aspect. Within, however, there rests the venom of a profound destructiveness. As for those connected to a foolish faith, the nexus of their connection is to the internal aspect of its content, to that which brings about the influence of that inner evil. This is because all idolatry recoils from the wellspring of life and goodness, the wellspring of living waters, instead excavating broken cisterns that will provide no water. Orot Ha=Emunah, p. 5 FAITH OF A NON-BELIEVER by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook At times, there may be found an non-believer who has a strong, inner, shining faith that gushes from the holy, supernal wellspring, more than thousands of believers with a meager faith. This may exist in individuals or in generations. Regarding all these, the verse declares, AThe righteous person will live by his faith.@ Orot Ha=Emunah, p. 21
UNDERSTANDING AND FEELING by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook The essence of learning Torah for its own sake comes only after the following preparation: an understanding, accompanied by feeling, that all the details of the Torah are truly beloved and holy, and that the universal light that is filled with life and brings life to the world courses through every one of those details. Arpelei Tohar, p. 2 JESTING WITH THE WORDS OF PRAYER by Dr. Chaim Lifshitz One Purim, the man appointed as the yeshiva=s APurim Rebbe@ led the prayers and repeated Ahamakeh@ (AHe who strikes) in a humorous, Yiddish accent. Rav Kook tapped disapprovingly on the table, to indicate that one does not jest with the words of prayer. Shivchei Harayah
CONNECTED TO THE WHOLE by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook AArrogance directly precedes the advent of the messiah.@ This is because the world has progressed to such a degree that it now demands an understanding of how every detail is connected to the whole. If just one detail is not connected to that great whole, the mind will not be satisfied. If everyone were engaged in the light of Torah to such a degree that the spiritual soul would grow to recognize the correct correlation of details to the levels of spiritual wholeness, then reclamation and universal rectification would emerge into reality. However, because of carelessness, the light of the inner Torah--which bears a tremendous exaltedness and holiness--has not appeared in the world correctly. As a result, the demand for the arrangement of life in which details are understood as part of the whole has arisen before the time has arrived for the completed revelation of light and clearing of the path to that understanding. And this has caused a terrible destruction. We must employ the supernal medicine: an increased strength in spiritual ability--until the path toward understanding and evaluating the connection between all viewpoints and actions of the Torah and the most supernal wholeness will be a central, direct understanding within the feelings of the common people. At that point, the strength of spiritual life will again appear in the world, in action and in thought; and a universal reclamation will begin to bear its fruit. Arpelei Tohar, pp.1-2 ELEVATING WORTHY THOUGHTS by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook It is necessary to elevate fallen thoughts and traits, in which evil and ugliness can be recognized, to the source of their root in holiness, where we can see that they are in truth exalted thoughts and good traits. In the same way, we must lift up thoughts that are worthy, but on the lowest level--where evil and chaos unite with them, even though they turn to holiness--to the uplifted level of the ideal emanation, directed only toward total goodness and absolute straightness; until that uplifting expands to the supernal world where pure holiness rules in its might. Arpelei Tohar, p. 1 THIS-WORLDLY IMPROVEMENT by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook
Out of a smallness of faith, it appears that when people strive to strengthen their situation, to war against the problems that occur in the world, to acquire knowledge, might, beauty, organization--that all this is external to the divine content in the world. Thus, a number of people who believe that they represent the divine basis in the world are suspicious regarding all worldly progress: they hate culture, the sciences, political strategies--whether among Jews or non-Jews. But this is all a great error and a lack of faith. The pure outlook sees the divine appearance in every improvement of life: individual and general, spiritual and physical. It measures matters only according to the measure of the usefulness they bring or the spoilage that they cause. In this measure, there will never be an entirely negative movement engaged in making something, whether physical or spiritual. It may have imperfections, but everything in its totality is an element of the divine creation that is constantly acting. ANot chaos did He create it, but that it be inhabited did He make it@ (Isaiah 45:18). Arpelei Tohar, pp. 67-68 NEW SOULS by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook We see a world filled with old souls, souls within physicality, souls clenched by the dregs of the physical, lacking that complete uplifting, that supernal flight, which transcends all flesh and physicality, which has complete sovereignty over the body and all that pertains to the body. The great treasure house filled with souls [trapped] within physicality must empty out. All those souls that do not hover above the body, that do not encircle it, that do not camp about it, that do not illuminate it from all sides, that do not use it for actualized goals and the concentration of active life when it is focused must be emptied out. They must be brought to completion in their particular character so that they will bring their physical goal to actuality--and then they must rise beyond it. Afterwards, a new light will shine, a treasure house of life, new and filled with freshness: new souls filled with the expression of an uplifted life, of a sovereignty over endless worlds that is ever-blossoming, sporting at every moment before the glory of the eternal God, [souls] that are emanated from the radiance of supernal wisdom and might. AThe son of David will only come when souls are emptied from the [storehouse] called >Body.= As the verse states, >the spirit before Me will be delayed, and the souls that I made= (Isaiah 57:16)@ (Avodah Zarah 5a). Only then will the role of the sovereignty of the supernal God, Mighty One, God of Israel,
arrive and be revealed upon the throne of David and upon His kingdom. Orot Hakodesh III, p. 368 WRITING A BOOK by Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook One time, Rav Kook went to a circumcision together with his close friend, the gaon, Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer. As they walked, they spoke of their rabbi, the Netziv of Volozhin. At that time, Rav Kook said, AThere is no comparison between one who writes a book after years of learning and one who does so before this. And there is no comparison between one who writes a book after many years and one who does so in his youth.@ Shivchei Harayah, p. 202
THE SOUL OF THE TORAH

by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook We can never hide from that general remedy that includes everything-the abandonment of which has caused our downfall. It is this that I, in my poverty and the bitterness of my spirit, am continuously proclaiming, repeating time and again, hundreds and thousands of times: we have abandoned the soul of the Torah. This is the great and mighty outcry that has been heard throughout the many generations: throughout the days of the prophets, the scribes and the sages, the great leaders of all generations, early and late. Those among us who possess great ability have turned for the most part to the concrete aspect of the Torah--and even there, only particular areas have been developed and are taught. But as for the aspect of feeling and, even more, the aspect of deep insight, which is followed automatically by something yet higher, the phenomenon of holiness in which redemption and salvation are concealed--these have been utterly abandoned. And anyone who comes and decries this great disgrace before the nation=s shepherds is considered to be coarse in spirit and irrational. The great voice of our divine explorers, of our supernal pious ones, of the pure mystics who have entered the secret of God, whose gaze is holy and whose will is mighty, who yearn for salvation, who gaze towards redemption, has become a voice calling in the wilderness. Now we have been severely struck, now heresy has burst forth from all directions in the form of filthy clouds of polluted darkness: conversion stalks like a ravaging beast and seizes thousands of souls from us each year. Yet in the midst of the camp whose banner is Torah and faith exist desolation and tempest, the shadow of death and a lack of order, no clear will and no defined, organized
ideal. There is still a strong belief that our fracture will be healed with magical solutions, magical solutions that do not satiate our souls, unless they are satiated with what they most urgently need to satisfy their lives. In no way will any counsel that rebels against the voice of God calling forth from the midst of the depths of the souls of supernal, holy people in every era stand and endure. We are summoned to a great repentance: a repentance out of love and all its implementations, precisely at a time of great calamity and exceptional danger. We must take the most sovereign of remedies. We must be radical. With one-half, one-third, one-quarter compromises, we will rectify nothing. Faith is lost and grows ever more impoverished because its teaching has been violated--no one seeks it and no one pursues it. In its current war of negativity, Orthodoxy presents itself with vain airs and false illusions. But life and reality destroy these and, correspondingly, those who believe in them. We are not consoled that the heretical aspect of our nation is that part most likely to be destroyed and wiped away. A problem of such proportions is not half a consolation. It is a double sorrow. And pointing out the deficiencies of gentile thinkers will not give us strength and life either, for such are merely negative words. Besides, why should we go on such distant paths, while a paved and straight road lies before us? We must value all of the Torah, with all its spiritual commentaries. Whoever has strength in his heart, power in his pen and the spirit of God in his soul is summoned to go forth to the battle lines and cry out, ABring forth light!@ Our generation would appear completely different if a considerable proportion of those with ability, who are filled with Torah and good intelligence, had volunteered to work the inner aspect of the vineyard of God, had engaged in purifying concepts of faith and service, in clarifying ideas regarding divinity, prophecy, the holy spirit, redemption and yearning for salvation--the salvation of the Jewish people and of the world--the rectification of the souls of individuals and of peoples, the setting up (tichun) of the spirits of the passing generations, of the future, and, above all (al gabeihem), the present. Strength of a different type would flower and rise amidst the scattered flock of God. An awesome and supernal glory would unfold and be revealed to the vast populace of the wise men of the Torah. A supernal illumination would pour forth from them onto the entire nation and onto the entire world. Literature-as newly defined amongst Jews and the world--which now grows progressively impoverished, which grows ever darker, ever more filthy and more impure, would rise and be redeemed by us, by means of our gigantic thoughts, by means of our clear modes of self-expression which would be fit foundations for the lives of many nations, bringing them forth from darkness to light. The evil and foolishness, the absurdity in the false faiths, would be progressively destroyed. We would begin the great heavenly work of removing the spirit of impurity from the land, and of bringing forth the appearance of the rectification of the world
under the reign of the eternal God. For this were we conscripted. For this were we created. As long as we wander, slaughtered and massacred like sheep and like rams, because we do not recognize our goal, men will come who are small and narrow to heal us with frigid remedies of all sorts, while they secrete in a corner the basic remedy of life. Some do so out of a closed heart and smallness of faith, others out of pride and lack of knowledge. And again, they think that the growth and glory of the Torah comes when it remains in that narrow, dry sense that did not have the power to hold us firm when cultural winds began to blow furiously, bringing a multitude of spiritual demands upon us--they think that even now this will be the general remedy for all our many ills. My honored friend, do not suspect me--and I hope that no one will suspect me--of having, heaven forbid, a meager love for the concrete Torah, for its constant study and for the expansion of its sharp debate and logic, acuity and expertise. However, at this time, the matter has reached the point of violating the ATorah of truth@--the supernal Torah. It has reached the point of suppressing the soul of the soul, of weakening the power of thought, of bringing the stance of our spiritual life and of the entire world (which depends upon us) to a state of terrible trembling and faintness. AThe nation did not return to He who struck it, and did not seek the Lord of Hosts@ (Is. 9:12). If someone comes and says that our salvation rests in the soul of Torah, in its supernal and true growth and glory, opponents come from all sides and rain down a flood of criticisms: AWhat do you want from Kabbalah, ethics, [intellectual] explorations, philosophy, homiletics, literature, poetry? Have these all not been exhausted? They did not give us what they had promised when their ferment began.@ Such arguments have succeeded in choking the voice of God that calls out within us from the depths of our souls, filling all the worlds: ASeek me and live!@ At such a time, we must publicize the greatest of the deficiencies. I do not speak at the moment in terms of specific programs, how to organize learning and thought, books, and organized yeshivas, whose concern in essence is the spreading of Torah in its simple meaning. These should serve us as towers of strength and citadels for the spirit of God, from which will come forth warriors of God, as in the days of old. All these particular ideas will be created after the essence is recognized, only after the entire consideration will be in regard to the means and the organization. ...May it be the will of our Father in heaven that He strengthen the hands of those who toil with the people for the sake of heaven. May He strengthen the spirit of all in whose heart a spark of the light of God burns, so that they will stand together in one bond to shine the light of God upon His nation. Then the role of the land of Israel as a Avalley of vision@ will only in this
form emerge from the many species of darkness that surround it. Igrot Harayah II, 483 A DEGENERATE UNDERSTANDING by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook There is a type of spiritual venom whose nature weakens the unique essence of Israel. The essence of Israel is the deepest light of holiness in the world. It is a holy life that pours into the innermost being. It is an illumination of the light of the true God. It is a life that encompasses the entirety of Israel and gilds its soul [?], a life profoundly connected to the living core of the holiness of Israel's supernally pure faith. Only the future world, a new re-creation in the heights of holy purity, will integrate [that fullness] and illuminate the activity of life. [This unique essence of Israel] is a supernal spirit that determines, in its strength--regarding both the active life of Israel and its counterbalance, the life of faith, the outpouring of the heart, the branching forth of the spirit--the inner call of the nation, the power of its stance, its yearning for victory, the strength of its faith and hopes, and the light of its future. Opposing this, that venom reaches with its blemish to the essence of the life-blood of the purity of faith. It removes the inner radiance of divinely pure life from the world, replacing it with a superficial glow that has nothing of that beauty, precision, eternity, faith and light of truth that overwhelms all, forever and ever. This venom draws sustenance from the weary outpouring of the spirit of faith and ethics. It spreads through the masses of many nations--indeed, it is suited for the nations of the world upon the broad globe. It is based on a degenerate understanding of the nature of ethics and the impetus for faith and clinging to God that are expressed in the life of the Jewish nation in all its wealth and purity. It licks Aas the ox licks@ (Bamidbar 22:4), and Athe gates of the desolate city are destroyed@ (Isaiah 24:12). It desires to swallow up the living countenance. It yearns to wipe the name of Israel from the face of the earth, to destroy the inner light of the world, and to establish instead a superficial and corporeal content. It encompasses weakness and is lined within with the foolish hopes of idolatry [?]. This venom will rule until the word of God will be revealed and the salvation of Israel will appear from the depths of the soul of the Eternally Living One. Then the shadows will flee, and a new light shall shine upon Zion. Sectarianism [i.e., Christianity] disengages the concept of the fear of heaven and the essence of closeness to God from the light of Torah and its
general this-worldly manifestation. This separation, directed purposely against the innermost aspect of Israel, against the innermost being of the community of Israel, pollutes the world. This idolatrous impurity has found a place upon which to rest, where it draws down sustenance for existence until the end of days, Awhen its dried branch shall be shattered@ (Isaiah 27:11). The separation of the idea of divine awe from the eternal world of the Torah has grown so strong that it has gone beyond separation, beyond abnegating the need for the maintenance of Torah based on awe. This poison has developed into a contradictory position, so much so that the evil handmaid has dared to decide that her counterfeit foundation of awe is the true foundation, one that demands the nullification and destruction of keeping and learning Torah, and Athe gates of the desolate city are destroyed.@ This sectarian darkness would not have found a place upon which to rest if a thickness, a darkness of falsity, had not initially passed over the content of divine understanding. The flaw of thought in an inner, hidden part brought about the establishment of that empty vision, one that has set the outer world of the nations adrift from the internal influence of the community of Israel. Now the derided community of Israel, oppressed in exile, does not actively influence the outer world. More than that, it is influenced, and it forgets its great heights, due to the pressure of evil and woe. AHashem, see my oppression, for the enemy has arisen@ (Eichah 1:9). All this derives from the superficial success of the nations, a gilding of clay over silver dross: A burning lips and an evil heart@ (Mishlei 26:23). But they will not benefit: Athe plan of the evil is distant@ (Iyov 22:18). The evil will necessarily be found out by the waters of the ordeal of the faithless woman, which she will find so bitter that Aher belly will swell and her thigh will fall away.@ But the woman of valor, the crown of her husband, will be proven innocent. May it be quickly, in our days, amen. Orot Ha=Emunah, pp. 8-9 A GREAT STREAM by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook There are various causes of depression. They must all be overcome by the joy of performing a mitzvah. This is a constant joy that suits Israel, because of the spiritual light that always rests upon the Jews. One cause of depression is the surrender to a desire for coarse pleasure. When one does so, one=s soul is drawn to a place of darkness, where it grieves over its descent. It is only right that this great woe be turned to joy, for when the soul rises from the yoke of exile that had burdened it, a great stream of joy rises up from below, and the refined, pure content grows ever richer in its spirituality. Arpelei Tohar
THIS LAND WILL NEVER BE SOLD by Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook How elevated is the point of view of one of the early great rabbis, Rabbi Nachshon Gaon, regarding our eternal connection to the land of Israel (published in Teshuvot Maharam MeRotenberg). He states that no conquest can ever remove the land of Israel from Jewish ownership--even if we assume that conquest does, in general, constitute acquisition. Only a land whose owners have the ability to transfer it to others willingly, if they wish, can perhaps be transferred by conquest. But there is a supernal and divine connection between the people of Israel and the land of Israel, one that can never be broken--even if those living on the land are willing to give it up. AThis land will never be sold forever, for the land is Mine@ (Vayikra 25:23). And certainly no act of violence can remove our eternal ownership. introduction to Our Historical and Legal Right to the Land of Israel, by Dr. Reuven Gafni, quoted in Moadei Harayah, pp. 415-16 GREAT IS OUR OBLIGATION by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook Great is our obligation to awaken the ancient love for Zion, the love that is eternal and burns with a holy flame in the hearts of our people, wherever they may be. We must battle with all our strength against the hatred of our holy land, which has begun to enter some quarters among us. With spiritual might and the eternal holiness of the beloved land, we must destroy the pollution of the Biblical spies who surveyed the Holy Land, a pollution that was aroused precisely at the Atime to have mercy on it@ (Tehillim 102:14). AThe word of our God will stand forever.@ The holiness of the land and its loveliness has not changed, nor will it ever change. All the bitter circumstances that have come upon the holy land, spiritual and physical, cannot overcome it. Just as no physical destruction can diminish the love for the beloved land, so can no spiritual desolation diminish the holy and profound love for the land of life. The faithful bond between the soul of the nation with AZion and its gathering places@ (Isaiah 4:5) stands and exists forever. The light of their love will yet shine seven times more brightly, will enflame every heart and lift every spirit, will sanctify them and encourage them. Chazon Hageulah, pp. 161-62, quoted in Moadei Harayah, p. 419
IN THE WORST DAYS OF DARKNESS by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook Even in the worst days of darkness, the nation does not lose its faithful trust in its connection to the land of Israel. A permanent indication of this is how, by the word of God, Jeremiah bought land in Anatot from Chanamel ben Shalum, at the most terrible moment, when Jerusalem was delivered into the hands of the Kasdim. Chazon Hageulah, p. 12, quoted in Moadei Harayah, p. 410 THE OBLIGATION OF SELF-DEFENSE by Simcha Raz Once, when the British Lord Commissioner returned to the land of Israel after an absence, Rav Kook requested that he take steps to disarm the Arabs. When the Commissioner replied that the Jews must also disarm, Rav Kook told him, "The two are not alike. A Jew uses weapons to defend himself and his brothers. The Arabs, on the other hand, use weapons to murder and destroy." The Commissioner responded, "The honored rabbi is only familiar with the religious youth who, I have heard, are training in the Haganah. I too believe that they will limit themselves to self-defense. But one cannot make this assumption about other Jewish youth." To this, Rav Kook replied, "That is not the case. The commandment, 'You shall not murder,' which the Jews heard on Mt. Sinai, affects every Jewish soul. It obligates every person who is attacked to defend himself, in order to drive away the attacker and minimize bloodshed." Malachim Kivnei Adam, p. 147 ISRAEL, THE NATION CLOSE TO HIM by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook The inner demand that actions match the highest and finest awareness and feeling is unique to Israel, whose character is the character of Achildren of Hashem, their God@ (cf. Devorim 14:1). They consider within themselves the possibility of bringing the life of action into line with the image of the ideal, exalted life. This is unlike the portion of the nations of the world and the families upon the earth. They consider the superficial tones of the ideals of life--but only the glamour in [those tones], which at times enchant them. But this enchantment bears no fruits. It remains instead a feeble thought, in which they take pride and
about which they boast. This is because the husk of idolatry, which envelops all the nations, prevents God=s light of supernal righteousness from entering the essence of the life of action. Thus the Torah, the Godly Torah which limits the life of action in accordance with the divine, supernal demand, cannot exist among the nations. AHe has not so treated any nation besides Yaacov@ (Tehillim 147:20), AIsrael, the nation close to Him@ (Tehillim 148:14). Arpelei Tohar, pp. 105-06 NATURE WILL BE LIKE A MIRACLE by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook When the world will rise, nature will be like a miracle. It will be filled with the revelation of the ideal desire and a living, all-inclusive purpose. This purpose will be precise and beautiful, with all the beauty that is found in the most exalted fineness. At that time, a hidden light will come forth, appearing as an exalted miracle. The revelation of this light will illumine and enliven the light of the common miracle, which will be then as nature is today. AThe sun will shine like the light of morning@ (Shmuel II 23:4), Aand Hashem will be my God@ (Breishit 28:21). Arpelei Tohar, p. 5 THE GIFT OF THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE by Simcha Raz In order to obtain the consent of the Jews to the compromise proposal that was offered by the British government, the signatures of the chief rabbis and the signature of Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld (the rabbinical leader of Agudath Israel, which was not represented by the Chief rabbinate) were requested Three messages were sent simultaneously to Rav Kook, Rav Yaakov Meir and Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld. Rabbi Shmuel Hacohen Weingarten witnessed the reaction of Rav Kook when the delegation of the national committee requested his signature to the agreement. AI received a delegation from the national committee, which asked me to sign an agreement in which the Jews recognizes to the right of the Arabs to the Western Wall. I said to them: You ask me to authorize with my signature the abandonment of our ownership of the Western Wall. But how can I relinquish the gift of the Holy One, blessed be He, to the Jewish people?@ Malachim Kivnei Adam, p. 178
WORDS LIKE SPURS by Simcha Raz In his testimony before the Wall Committee, in which he took a strong and proud stance regarding the right of the Jewish people to its Wall, Rav Kook protested, among other things, the desecration of books of Psalms by the British soldiers at the Wall. He said, AWhen your forefathers were climbing trees in the forests, we already had Dovid ben Yishai, who composed the exalted book of Psalms--it is this that you desecrated.@ Malachim Kivnei Adam, p. 180 A DEW OF LIGHTS by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook It is from the dew of the resurrection of the dead that the ministering angels maintain life: a firm life, a life unaccompanied by death. The flow of that life continuously carries out its activity. It engages in an ongoing labor to raise the world to its own state of being. There is no improvement or illumination in the world--from the smallest to the greatest, from the most superficial to the most profound--that does not become a rung on the ladder leading to the happy state of the supernal seal: the revival of the dead and the victory of complete goodness. [This is a victory] not merely in its restricted social sense, but which refers in general to all worlds, and in particular to every creature, from the smallest to the greatest. The dross and the excess of that eternal dew give strength to the entire energy of life. The essence and inner being of that dew is hidden in the Torah. And when the Torah condenses into form--even when its expression branches out in the most shallow and fragmented manner regarding all levels of life, [and even] with imagined illusions--that is an essential condensation of the supernal dew that gives life to the dead. Whoever makes use of this dew of the Torah is given life by the dew of the Torah. AYour dew is a dew of lights.@ Orot Hatorah I, p. 378 THE INNER SOUL by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook All Godly action related to ethics (in individuals or in nations and
groups) is an extension of that universal ethics that depends upon the essence of being that exists within the name of God. Higher than this is a concealed free will, which does not correspond to revealed ethical content. Instead, it corresponds to the supernal ideal that is in consonance with the supernal gaze--a gaze that transcends the conditions of present existence. The illuminations that come from this essential quality are the lights of the inner soul of all being. They include the past, present and future, transcending the structure and form of temporal periods. All of this is encompassed within the term Abeing@: in its structure and in all the paths of its purification. Arpelei Tohar, p. 2 THE LIGHTNING OF GOD by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook I am certain that when the revival of the Jewish nation begins to awaken, there will be a spiritual rebellion in the land of Israel and amongst the people of Israel. Material tranquility will come to a segment of the people, who will imagine that they have reached their entire purpose. This tranquility will diminish the soul. Days will come of which it is said, "there is nothing desirable in them." The yearning for elevated and holy ideas will cease, and so the spirit will descend and sink. But then a tempest will come and overturn everything. We will know clearly that the treasure of Israel rests within eternal holiness, in the light of God and His Torah, in the desire for spiritual light.... The rebellion takes the form of a materialistic tendency. And it is necessary that this tendency manifest with vigor amidst the entirety of the [Jewish] people, after so many years have passed in which the need and ability to engage in physical pursuits were completely removed from the entire nation. When this materiality will be born, it will rage furiously like hurricane winds. And these winds are what are referred to in the phrase, "the birth pangs of the messiah." Malachim Kivnei Adam, p. 484 THE HOLY LAND by Simcha Raz I. One time, Rav Kook was called to Rishon Letzion to adjudicate a case. On the way, Rav Kook said to his companion, AI am ready to kiss every stone of this land and even the donkey that we passed.@
II. The Talmud states that ARabbi Abba used to kiss the stones of Acco.@ My cousin, Rabbi Simcha Kook (rabbi of Rechovot), told me that Rav Kook explained this to him: What was so special about those stones, and why did Rabbi Abba kiss them? If Rabbi Abba had kissed the earth, we might have thought that he is doing so because the earth brings forth fruits, and that the land of Israel is important and holy only because of the commandments pertaining to it (such as tithing). But Rabbi Abba=s love for the land of Israel was a pure love, and the holiness of the land is intrinsic. Therefore he kissed even the stones. III. Rabbi Shmuel Hacohen Weingarten (past chairman of the Religious Committee in Jerusalem) tells: On time, Rav Kook was traveling with a few other people to Tel Aviv. On the way, the car broke down, and they had to wait for a short while. The passengers, including Rav Kook, wandered off. When people searched for him, they found him stretched out on the ground and whispering, AMy land, my land! The holy land of Israel!@ When he stood up, he said, AWhen else do I have the chance to speak to the motherland, who waits for her children to return to her?@ THE CORE NATURE OF OUR SOUL by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook We must carry out all the commandments with joy, because they open up the sense of sweetness and divine love that is hidden in the core nature of our soul. Another good way to connect ourselves to this holy goal is to separate ourselves from every sin, because sin thickens the light of our soul. If we act in an ugly manner, spiritual clarity grows confused. Then there is an end to the expansion of the light of divine sweetness. But our consciousness must expand, in regard to both our actions and our spirituality, until the power of our soul grows so great that it has the strength to give an order to life (to life in general and to each individual life) in a fitting manner, so that the heavenly blossom of life, the universal sweetness--which embraces all everlasting pleasures and from which all temporal pleasures are fed--the pleasure of the sweetness of God, will blossom forever, flourishing and great. Orot Hakodesh III, p. 186 A THIRST FOR THE DIVINE by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook
An inner flame from the holy light, a thirst within for the light of God-these constitute the basis for the revelation of holiness within our soul. A person in whose soul this special, exalted trait is enclosed must understand his character, the framework of his thoughts, his speech, his affairs and his meditations, so that he will know how to conduct the course of his life in accordance with the great plane of the light of life, the fullness of whose holy pleasures constantly fills his soul with the dew of kindness from the light of supernal blessing. AThe blessing of Hashem gives one wealth.@ At times, the flow of this divine thirst comes to cause this holy spirit to affect the world and life, the nation and everything entirely (in the entire breadth of this meaning) in order to bring everything close to the holy elevation, to the light of the name of God, Who is the Life of worlds. Orot Hakodesh III, p. 209
THOSE CONCEPTS THAT ARE POSSIBLE by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook Those concepts that are possible within the realms of holiness are the most exalted songs. Within them and through them, the most supernal truth is revealed. The glory of morality, and its eternal being, is drawn down corresponding to the basic revelation of the visions of greatness of all the possibilities of the happy state of holiness within all existence. Arpelei Tohar THE SOURCE OF LIFE by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook AThe source of life is with You; in Your light, we shall see light.@ Life begins relationship where relationship to death exists; where there is something that can live, so that if the flow of life does not stream there, the negation of life, which is death, appears. However, there is a source of life that is the essence of life, life independent, an existence that does not depend upon being the negation of death. This source of life rests in the realm of supernal divinity. From this origin, life begins pouring forth to revive all dead bodies, all who lack life, with the dewdrops of its lights. Fundamental to the being of this source of life (a source prepared to pour forth life) is limitation, which with its constriction establishes forms and worlds marked by boundaries. The limitation found there is a revelation of an
exceedingly precious divine goodness. However, there is a supernal elevation that transcends this source of life. That supernal elevation is the directly-present light of God that differs from all lights of worlds. The entire being of the light within those worlds is intended to make dark bodies visible, bodies that in themselves do not share the nature of light. The light itself, however, is not a visible object, for the ability to see the being of light, corresponding to the measure of light, has not been revealed in the world. But the light of God, in its high, broad and princely source, is the light in which and by means of which light is seen. This is the foundation of the supernal breadth of the infinite radiance that none of the worlds upon worlds are equal to. Olat Harayah I, p. 21 WHOEVER MOURNS OVER JERUSALEM by Rabbi Moshe Neriah The sages teach that Awhoever mourns over Jerusalem will merit to see its joy@ (Taanit 30b). Why did they say Awill merit to see its joy@ and not Awill merit to see it rebuilt?@ After all, the rebuilding of Jerusalem is the primary goal, and the joy is merely secondary. Rav Kook explained that our sages knew that when Jerusalem will be rebuilt, everyone alive at that time will witness this event, including those who did not mourn over its destruction. But only those who had mourned and grieved over its destruction, who had yearned and hoped for its rebuilding, will attain a feeling of joy. In the great days following the ratification of the Balfour Declaration in San Remo by the entire League of Nations, Rav Kook added a remark regarding those Jews who did not show sufficient joy at this great event. AThere are Jews,@ he said, Ain whom this proclamation of the nations of the world regarding the full rights of the Jewish nation to its land does not awaken joy, because in essence their mourning centers on the spiritual destruction of Jerusalem and the Land of Israel. However, the burning disgrace that the land is in the hands of strangers does not bother them, and so they did not mourn over that. ABut as for those whose hearts have mourned and grieved throughout their lives not only for the destruction of Jerusalem and the desolation of the Land, but also because it is ruled by strangers, because the pride of Israel has been exiled and because the pride of royalty has been exiled from our nation and our land--for these people, the proclamation of the nations of the world that the Land of Israel must return to the People of Israel is a source of joy. And it is these people who will merit to see it in its joy.@ Moadei Harayah, p. 567
IMMACULATE STREAMS by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook The fear [of God] that comes as a result of the physical metaphors in kabbalah is a foolish one. Do we not clearly know that all these [metaphors] do not in the least affect the shining foundation of the purity of faith in one God, blessed be He? Indeed, they give us radiance, clarity of understanding, and the ability to be in harmony with the divine light. Our task is to study, to learn, to prepare [our] physical and spiritual makeup in a manner that is appropriate for the permanent addition of this supernal light, which at every minute and moment pours forth immaculate streams from its very source. Then, in accordance with our understanding and our depth of selfsacrifice in clinging to the divine, a full love will spill forth from the hidden chambers of the fear [of God], renewing the life of the spirit in the form of a new creation--every day, always. Arpelei Tohar GREATNESS AND BOOKISHNESS by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook Those who are truly great find within themselves an opposition to bookishness, for everything lives within them and pours forth from their spirit, and they must always be delving into their inner spirit. For them, the aspect of scholarship is merely an aid and of secondary importance. The essential thing in their approach to perfection is their own Torah (Kiddushin 32b). AIn his Torah, he will learn day and night@: [in his own Torah, which comes from within him]. Sometimes, a person does not know his worth. He turns his back on his own Torah and wants to be a scholar--out of convention or out of some scholastic interpretation [of a teaching], such as AInquire, and receive reward.@ It is then that the oppression of the descent begins to darken the world of such great, but weak, individuals. Arpelei Tohar, p. 61 CEDING OUR RIGHTS by Prof. Haim Lipschitz In the days of the AWestern Wall Commission,@ members of the National Committee asked Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook to express his opinion regarding whether it is permissible for Jews to cede the right of ownership over the Kotel to the Arabs, in exchange for which the Arabs would allow the Jews
free access to the Kotel. Rav Kook replied that we have no right whatsoever to cede anything of the Kotel. He emerged from his room and immediately sent a messenger to inform Rabbi Chaim Sonnenfeld [his ideological rival] of his response. As it happened, in order to prevent any communication between Rav Kook and Rabbi Sonnenfeld, the National Committee had sent simultaneous delegations to them. Nevertheless, Rabbi Chaim Sonnenfeld gave the same response as had Rav Kook. And he too sent a messenger to Rav Kook to tell him of his answer. Shivchei Harayah, p. 238 A SUDDEN SURGE by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook Adherence to the Torah must result from the fortification of spiritual strength in the profound holiness of the soul. [This is a strength that] pours its stream of life upon the movements of every individual and of the entire community with a sudden surge--not by a slow process or by means of connecting parts Abit by bit and line by line@ (Isaiah). When this takes place, that which is distant gains sustenance from the life-force in accordance with its measure, as does that which is nearby. Then the principles of the Torah and its details, its safeguards and enactments, its customs and straightforward counsel, its worthy articles of faith and everything that stems from them pulse with the rhythms of their own lifeforce--all of them as one. On the other hand, there is smallness of faith. This comes from a constricted and impoverished rationality, the mind toiling until it finds a connection between the principle that the heart accepts (to the extent that it can understand) and the distant bifurcation of individual paths. [The mind] constantly stumbles and fails amidst the paths of life. This limited mind cannot, despite all its calculations, illumine its own way. It is a broken vessel that is unable to draw anything from the streaming, living wellspring of the light of God that manifests in His world and in His Torah. And so the light of repentance goes forth and clears a path for the nation. It vigorously calls out for a return to God: that we heed His voice, go in His ways, and cling to Him. Only with this stalwart might will the nation live and rise.
Then the every-day mind, with all its ability, will be an appropriate servant to help (to some degree, at least) the spirit of life that pulses within the fullness of the soul, by dealing with the expression and appearance of a few particular details. But the foundation of everything, the wellspring of life, is the spirit of God in the heart, living in the inner being of the soul and filled with might and power. ADo not remain silent before Him until He will establish Jerusalem and make her the praise of the earth@ (Isaiah 62:7). Orot Hatorah 11:3 DO NOT FEAR by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook Exaggerated fear removes the radiance of life from people and from any creature that can experience feelings. There is nothing in the world, no matter how evil and cruel, that is quite like it. It magnifies all evils beyond comparison to what they really are, and it darkens the brightness of all good things, for it burrows beneath their foundations and excessively claims that evil is hidden beneath the obvious good. The source of all weakness and all feebleness, whether physical, ethical, or intellectual, solely a fear that crosses beyond its proper boundary. Such a fear terrifies a person so much that he will do nothing to save himself. He will not even lift a finger to help himself, because he is afraid that he might be hurt, he is afraid that action may bring an evil that he cannot escape. And finally, this fear weakens and enfeebles him so much that out of his inertia and inaction, he falls prey to every evil. The most damaging fear is mental fear. This falsity casts a delusion upon the most sensitive and beautiful members of the human race, people who stand as a banner, who serve as luminaries that will brighten the paths of life for everyone. Shadow always follows light, and so the more a person is able to understand and grow wise, the more does his delusional fear, resulting from his thoughts, increase. [Various] nations have the ability to grow wise, to gather together and connect everything of an elevated and holy nature that was scattered and separated into one inclusive bloc, with counsel and knowledge in matters that stand at the apex of the world. But superior to all of them is the people of Israel. They are the one nation that carries the flag of the most raised thought in the world, the thought that contains all that wisdom stores within itself: the thought of oneness. AGod is in the heavens above and upon the earth below; there is no other.@ Indeed, [we] must always broaden the boundary of consciousness to an
infinite degree--with a brave heart, without fright, without any recoil and fear at all. Fear Adue to the oppressor who prepares to destroy@ (cf. Is. 51:13) has lowered the universal spirit of our nation, which is girded in might, until it recoils from and fears every thought and idea--and thus [it recoils from and fears] every action and any great and inclusive act. And since the essence of the foundation of [our nation=s] might is the strength of God, when it is spiritually weak, it grows very weak and feeble. At such a time, the most honorable help for our nation is removing from its heart this fear that comes from spiritual delusion, and demonstrating, as clear as the sun, that it has nothing whatsoever to fear. Let the nations that boast of their idols fear that the general power of delusion that affects their communal society will shatter. Let every evil government fear that the light of truth and honesty will show that the goal of all their longings is a wilful criminal fist and perverted justice. Let it fear that when the light of pure thought gains strength, it will show how disgusting that government is. And thus the universal chains will snap, and their national strength will fall totter. But why should Israel fear? We are the nation whose strength and refuge is the most elevated light of the purest and most uplifted thought, whose glory and beauty, hope and desire, is the purest and most unalloyed justice. We need only to rise, only to grow wiser and wiser, with that which is already planted in us and gathered in our innermost essence. Only then will we be filled with salvation and light. Then we will see our great worthiness, and how degraded are those who trample upon us with the foot of pride. And the more our nation=s thought grows and is broadened, the more will we recognize our nation=s soul and the beauty of its glory, until it will rise and ascend to show everyone the treasure of life hidden within it, until all the inhabitants of the world will recognize and see that our nation=s spirit is the spirit of God, and the soul of the Almighty is its soul. Divine inspiration and divine light can come upon Israel only when the evil and wild fear that clings to it like an encompassing wound, that extends days of exile and the persecutions of our degraded, evil enemies, is removed from within its soul. God=s Presence only rests upon a person who is wise, mighty, and wealthy (Shabbat 82a), and only in a place of joy (ibid 30b). Since this is true of an individual, how much does it apply to the entire nation. AWealth@ can be read in its simple meaning: a present from God given from the heights, usually only this-worldly effort. AMay Hashem your God bless you in all that you do@ (Devorim 15:18). But there is [also] a wealth of consciousness, when a person knows how to rejoice in his portion. This too can be experienced by an individual or by the entire nation. But as for might--and joy, which is its consequence--that can come only by means of a rectification of the spirit, a
rectification of consciousness and thought. And in regard to that, we have been assured that AIf a person says, >I toiled and I did not find= or >I did not toil and I found,= do not believe him@ (Megillah 6b). In the end of days, in the [age of the] Aheels of the Messiah,@ when the divine light stands behind our walls, the first of all preparations is the removal of fear, the excrescence of thought, from the general spirit--in particular from the spirits of outstanding individuals, those people who are graced with a good mind, with a talent for holiness and justice, for it is they who are most affected by fear and weakness. The impetus to accomplish this is provided by its opposite force: the force of arrogance, which must grow stronger at such a time--for where there is arrogance there is no fear. [It is true that arrogance] comes from a degraded place, from a place of intoxication and confusion. As great as the distance from the heavens to the earth, so is the distance between arrogance and the might that results from the heavenly blessing of the wealth of the soul and the strength of its righteousness. Nevertheless, we act utilizing the strong power of arrogance in order to take the good from it, the sparks of holiness, the innermost core: the cease of mental fear. And that is due to the strength that is promised, that is hidden, in the treasury of our lives. Then, might will become a part of the weave of holiness, and thought will blossom. ADo not fear, for you shall not be shamed. And do not be abashed, for you will not be shamed, for you shall forget the shame of your youth, and the shame of your widowhood you will no longer recall@ (Is. 54:4). Hador, pp. 119-121 UNIVERSALISM AND NATIONALISM by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook According to the content of the approach of the school of Shammai [in regard to lighting Hanukkah candles], even a person who is unable to rise to the heights of the ultimate goal should be taught that the goal of Torah does not rest upon a foundation of national love. The foundation [of the Torah] should rather be transmitted with profound truth. The only message to be transmitted to the entire nation of God as the ultimate foundation is the purpose of the Torah and the awe that flows from pure faith. On the other hand, the school of Hillel [argues that] there is a way to explain in a few words even to those who do not understand the depth of truth that there is a Torah basis to the goal of nationalism. Time is divided into past and future. The Torah approach that flows solely from the aspect of the tendency toward faith, without any admixture of what can be humanly felt, flows in its
essence from the foundation of the future. AHow great is Your goodness that You have hidden [in the future] for those who fear You@ (Psalms 321:20). [In this view,] the past is no more than an indication of what will be. This is the content of faith regarding the future. [But there is another approach:] there can be an admixture of a nationalist tendency felt in the heart--just as the heart has a tendency toward love of family and love of parents. [Such a feeling] is built upon the past. What has caused this feeling to be established in the heart until it may be fit to support those many actions that improve and unite well the national foundation? It is the great past that accomplishes this. AOne rabbi said: the reason of the school of Shammai [that we reduce the number of Hanukkah candles daily is that the candles] correspond to the coming days.@ The school of Shammai bears in mind the more supernal aspect, [the aspect] that goes beyond a national foundation, for which only the foundation of faith and Torah, without any aid of feeling, remains. Athe coming days@ indicates the [historic] future, which bears the seal of faith: that we have faith in His name, that He is faithful to His covenant and keeps His word. AFaith corresponds to the Mishnaic Order called Seeds.@ We believe in God, the Life of worlds: that His seed will sprout in the future and sprouts (Yalkut Shimoni Tehillim, Hint 674; cf. Shabbat 31a in Tosafot). [The Jews are] Aa righteous nation, keeping faith@ (Isaiah 16:2)--[meaning that] Aalthough the dead have yet to come back to life, [the Jews] already recite the blessing, >Blessed is He Who revives the dead=@ (Yalkut Shimoni, Tehillim, Hint 617). [On the other hand,] Athe reason of the school of Hillel [that we increase the number of Hanukkah candles daily is that the candles] correspond to the days that have passed.@ [This refers to] the [historic] past, which sets its seal upon the nation, placing its natural feeling upon us, so that we may use it as a help to set up a testimony in Israel, since its depth is built upon the purest truth. [In regard to the reasoning of the school of Shammai, the Talmud proffers another reason.] And this is the most truthful and deepest insight regarding Athe reason of the school of Shammai: [decreasing the candles] corresponds to the cattle [sacrifices] of the festival [of Succot--which decreased in number daily].@ [These cattle, which symbolize the nations of the world,] indicate the influence of Israel upon all the nations. [The nations] are constantly decreasing. This indicates that the more the light of Israel appears in the world, the more the power of national separation diminishes, until the only differences [that will remain] are those that are most natural and which bring goodness to the world due to [the nations=] remaining separate. But the profusion of differences whose source is the urge of the heart of man toward wilfulness, evil and excessive love of self will pass and be nullified. It is the connection to the ultimate vision that is the activity that comes forth from Israel for the sake of the all. The rule of national love will pass this
by, for [national love] is inferior to the value [of universalism]. [On the other hand, the Talmud proffers a second rationale for the teaching of the school of Hillel:] Athe reason of the school of Hillel is that we rise in holiness and do not descend.@ There is a need and truth in loving the [Jewish] nation, until [that love] is fit it be placed as a holy tool for the sake of the Torah in Israel. The reason for this is that the unique quality of the Jews is central. Its existence is the highest goal, even more than the exaltedness of the general goal of illuminating the entire human species. It rises and is magnified in the treasury of the all--constantly, in every generation. It is this [love] that is fit to be placed as the ultimate goal of the will of God in His world: AIsrael, in whom I will glory@ (Isaiah 49:3). Therefore, the nationalistic purpose, which is a branch [of that unique quality], is fit to be connected to matters of holiness when [that purpose] guards its role and the ways in which it is acquired: which are Torah, mitzvot and pure faith sealed in the seal of [that national purpose]. [It must] be made known that the question of whether or not Israel is a Anation@ is a result merely of the aspect of a superficial understanding of the root of [these] matters. Not many will gain the wisdom to arrive at the foundation of that which necessitates the approaches [of the schools of Shammai and Hillel]. But those who are wise of heart will gaze at the essential things. Therefore, [the Talmud continues by teaching about Athe elders,@] who are the wise men. AThe elders who were in Zidon: one acted in accordance with the school of Shammai, and another acted in accordance with the school of Hillel. AOne explained his deeds [in lighting the Hanukkah candles by saying that they] correspond to the cattle of the festival [of Succot].@ That is to say, the ultimate tendency of the desire of God comes from the quantitative measure, which comes by means of Israel and its Torah. AAnd one explained that we rise in holiness and do not descend.@ That is to say, the most elevated desire is the qualitative unique [Jewish] quality. Regarding this [disagreement,] it is said that Aboth opinions are the words of the living God@ (Eiruvin 13b). And it is fitting to know that the foundation of Ahe continues to increase@ is well in line with the knowledge point of view that the thought of Israel precedes everything and is the essence, from the aspect of the importance of the existence of this holy nation. And even though there are aspects in Aincreases@ to point out in it the value of the influence that Israel influences the world entirely, that entirely form the aspect themselves of the nations the light decreases continuously, and their nationalism that is not established for an exalted and eternal purpose, continuously melts away until the divisions of lights will be eliminated, in this measure itself they grow especially close and liable to receive the light of Israel. It is [thus] found that in regard to Israel, it Aincreases,@ for those who receive their influence increase. And when we distinguish the
precious worth of this nation, all of whose destiny and purpose, desire and desire is to benefit the entire totality as is the desire of God, we are astonished at the glorious worth of this precious unique quality. Therefore, the highest essence, does not remain by the purpose of a multitude of receivers of the light, even from this aspect of the destiny of its influence, but by the influencer itself, by the aspect of its unique quality to be a light to the world eternal light. Therefore, it should be pointed out in this mitzvah, the worth impressed within Israel that Aincreases,@ and automatically the mater is parallel to the second image in Aincreases@ from the aspect of the essential unique quality, even without the essence of the foundation of the influence. And these things are twin fitting to be a national foundation in Israel built upon the depth of the truth, even though that its paths have transcended a great deal over the thought of simple nationalism that enters the heart according to the accustomed word from a great multitude, and which is taken with the accompaniment of images accustomed from foreign nations, nevertheless, since the inner foundation intends to the purpose that the impression remains in the might of its height only in Israel, behold, nationalism in its form it intends to the foundation of that level, like the matter of the Temple below which is in line with the upper Temple. AThis is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven@ (Bereishit 28:17). Ein Ayah TO BE PREPARED FOR SUCH A LIFE by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook [The realm of] good and evil is, at its source, much higher than what is visible in human life--whether individual or societal. Indeed, the content that reveals itself in life branches from the essence of good and evil. But its higher foundation--defilement and purity--may [only] be seen in a holy vision, informed by divine directives. At times, this-worldly evil is merely external evil, saturated with an essential goodness. And contrarily, this-worldly good may merely be a superficial and external good, saturated with an essential, inner evil from a higher sphere. And in regard to this, we find that [the realm of] faith and holiness is the foundation and root of everything, and it is filled with essence, it gives life and hope, construction and existence--much more than any cultural, ethical content that humanity can point to. But to be prepared for such a life, [a life] established on the supernal foundation, the mined treasure of a unique nation is needed. That is the supernal mystery within the nation of Israel. Orot Hakodesh II, p. 477
THROUGH A LENS OF BRIGHT HOLINESS by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook The science of mysteries clarifies the actuality of the spiritual in all its patterns. It describes existence in all its aspects, good and evil in all their fullness. Through a lens of shining holiness we see that the depth of goodness brings about the depth of evil, so that by means of that evil, goodness itself will grow deeper and exist in all its most perfect fullness and goodness. And this is why there exists in all being a reality of the desire for evil: evil in ethical [thought] and evil in action. The desire for the ruination of the world exists in all the patterns of reality, just as there exists a desire for its building, elevation and perfection. God=s supernal plan is to turn aside from the stumbling-blocks of evil and to lift humanity and the world from the depths of evil to the heights of good. The world and humanity are destined for this. And this is the destiny of evil itself--which, in the role of the character of independent being, will in its inner nature also rise and be transformed to good when it recognizes the desire for evil within it as being directed towards to the universal perfection of the good. The branches of evil, which have turned aside fundamentally from the desire for perfection of goodness, are in truth only an illusory existence--whose appearance, even to themselves, shines only as long as the light of goodness has not been revealed. [And that light] is revealed in all its glory even from the depths of evil. After that revelation, wickedness, which had turned aside in the essence of the depth of its character from the perfection of goodness, is revealed not to be an existing character at all. [Then] the spirit of defilement will pass from the land and the idols will be entirely wiped away, and on that day, Hashem alone will be exalted. The spirit of man, his will, his intellect, and all his manifestations are saturated with the distillate of universal good and evil, [a distillate that] is revealed in all existence. It is impossible to describe how great is the accomplishment of man in burnishing and perfecting being.
Certainly no limited intellect can imagine the depths of this vision even in general
and certainly cannot describe its details and, even more, cannot organize a orderliness of life that penetrates all the patterns of good and evil, [an orderliness] that is prepared and directed to destroy the entire structure of evil and perfect the structure of good in the soul of humanity, in its will, in its inner nature, in its specific and general yearning-and not only that, but to pour from its spirit onto the spirit of the world, onto realistic yearning and its abilities, to the point that the inner tendency in the depths of evil is transformed to the heights of good--[so that] the desire for destruction, ruination, darkness and degeneration [is transformed] into the desire for building, establishment, illumination and elevation. Orot Hakodesh II, pp. 475-76 THANKSGIVING by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook The holiness of certain times discloses supernal goodness. Everything is drawn from the source of Sabbath-thanksgiving, from Ait is good to give thanks to Hashem.@ Because [these times] are unveiled on every festival and holiday as components of that supernal good, joy finds its place amongst them. That which is more encompassing contains more pleasure. Israel knows that God is good, [Israel] knows of the hidden beloved [goodness] in the supernal treasury, in the house of treasures of the Holy One, blessed be He. The festivals reveal this knowledge, they elevate a person=s ability to act, they make him equal to his Maker in beautifying being. AAll your men shall be seen@ [at the Temple on the holidays]. AJust as a person comes to be seen [by God], so does he come to see [Godliness].@ And these are two states of knowledge. One is absolute good, from which joy and pleasure flow. The other is doing good, continuously improving everything in one=s connection to all being, elevating it, beautifying it--with the commandments of God, with keeping the word of God and connecting one=s consciousness and desire to the desire of God, supernal God, Maker of heaven and earth. Great is the light of kindness in the world. Great is the joy in its dwelling place. Great is the light and the sweetness where it camps. But opposing this, great is the depth of the darkness and the depression and groaning. A person takes lights of joy and greatness and scatters them in the depths and darkness, and there they shine and give joy to an infinite multitude of creatures. Then they immediately rise together with their lights, with a joyous flight and soaring, with singing, song and gladness, to the place of light and
sweetness. There, joy is added to joy. And in the chambers of the heart, in the sensibility that sings within oneself, rivers of sweetness and holy joys are revealed, and the breadth of the spirit constantly rises, and the might of the soul grows glorious, and everything is glorified, and everything is embraced in love. Birds sing and children are filled with joy, those dismal in spirit awake from their drunkenness, the depressions of the broken-hearted are healed, and the foundation of life continuously pulses in the world. The richness of the refined existence within everything depends upon how great is the refinement of a person=s inner desire in regard to goodness, in his permanently establishing the seal of goodness upon his spirit and the quality of his life. The details of the good become many, the hues increase, their totality and details are ever more prominent--in [the performance of] God=s commandments, in Torah [learning], in the expression of prayer and thanks, in the unifications of thought and the unification of [Divine] Names [engaged in] by those who are holy and supernal, those who rise beyond everything and raise everything. AHappy is the nation that is thus, happy is the nation whose God is the Lord.@ Orot Hakodesh II A WORLD THAT IS CLEARLY SEEN by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook [Translator=s note: The following teaching of Rav Kook is difficult both in its language and in its ideas. Accuracy in translation cannot be guaranteed. It seems to me to be saying the following. There is a view of the world that sees existence as something from which to flee. But when we see the world clearly, there is no reason to complain about evil. Even those who seek nothingness--and thus complain about this world=s somethingness-- are complaining that the world is deficient. And since deficiency is a species of nothingness, then they would have to agree that this world is in fact good. In other words, the deficiency of this world is not in opposition to a transcendent Anothingness.@ To the contrary, it is an expression of that Anothingness.@ Within this physical world rest the most transcendent states. The problem with the world is not that it has too much existence. To the contrary, the problem with it is that it does not have enough existence. Suffering in the world is not caused by our being led astray by things of this world but by the fact that we are yearning for that ultimate true being. But if a person is yearning for Anothingness,@ he is yearning for that which appears evil, but which is in essence good. Even that person cannot reject this world as
unredeemably evil, for good is hidden within it and within everything. A person who totally rejects this world as he seeks Anothingness@ can transcend feelings of pain and even find them pleasurable. Nevertheless, this must come to an end. One must realize that existence is good--and we continue to be aware of that, even as we return to a normal perception of pain. The more we look the more goodness do we see. Then we see good even in moral evil, for everything is in essence good. If we were satisfied with the state of affairs as it is, we would be content to have a raised state of consciousness in which we see the good even in evil. But because we yearn for an ultimate good, our perception of this world in a sense diminishes, and we cease to see the good hidden in evil. But finally, we will come to that ultimate goodness--and then, looking at the expanse of all reality, we will see that goodness was hidden within the evil at all times. The knowledge that goodness is hidden within evil is the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But if we eat of that tree=s fruit prematurely, we grow content with things as they are, and no longer yearn for an ultimate goodness. But once we do reach the ultimate good, the tree of knowledge of good and evil is transformed into a tree of life. We see that every part of the universe and of history was in the service of goodness. This awareness comes from the essential soul of the Torah, and is revealed to those who yearn for God to be revealed--beyond labels and conceptions. Then we reach a level of silence, a world-transcending awareness of the goodness that pervaded the world throughout the era of human history. That silence is our connection to God, our praise.] In taking an account of a world that is [seen] clearly, there is no place to complain about the existence of evil. There are those who are repulsed by being, who say that their ultimate goal is nothingness. According to their conception, therefore, deficiency and emptiness comprise goodness. If that is the case, then [even according to them] there is nothing that is not good. Any inadequacy in the world is nothing else than either (a) a diminution of existence; (b) a diminution of the existence of the diffusion of the essence of being (which desires existence and its perfection); or 8 anything that has any sort of relationship to [diminution]: a diminution of [this world] acquiring [reality], a diminution of consciousness, a diminution of glory. All of these lead to suffering, solely because of one=s yearning for what [truly] is and one=s yearning for the perfection of being. [So even] if one=s total yearning for happiness is an outcry for nothingness, then everything evil is good, for [evil] is closer to nothingness. These matters grow ever more profound. At last, even sensations of
physical pain grow still and their sharpness is removed. And when [this] concept grows [yet] stronger, they even become pleasurable. However, this line cannot proceed to its end. [This] account must squeeze [dry] its measure, and realize that being is happiness and existence is good. As a result of this awareness, every suffering and pain is [again] viewed in accordance with its usual place and consensus meaning. But we still actually see that all evil in the world is nothing less a diminished good in relation to the outcry for the abundant good. An insightful gaze into every exceedingly refined part of goodness-which is even found in evil--reveals the light of truth in existence. And we see that all God did is good, very good. And [we can say the following in regard to] the moral evil in the world. If not for the longed-for goodness that will raise everything to full goodness (and this is the goodness that is coming into being, the goodness that is rising, that is blossoming, goodness in itself, original, goodness whose foundation and whose goodness are contained within it and gush from it in its original source)-if not for this hidden happiness, our eye would see that even moral evil is none other than reduced goodness, and that all evil is none other than diminished charity. However, if this were to be seen, the desire to ascend would cease to exist. And then the world would be desolate of its happiness and elevation. Therefore, we do see the evil of moral evil. This [more limited viewpoint], when [we see] goodness reduced, is also a refining of the structures of truth. And it is accompanied by a limitation of all structures of evil, all sufferings and pain, all disgrace and all diminution, which have come in consequence of sin. [Ultimately,] with the improvement of the spirit, with the permanence of the desire for an elevation that does not cease from its very essence, there is no fear of any evil. Automatically, the world and all its fullness are seen with their full goodness in the foundation of their broad and full existence. The tree of knowledge of good and evil is completely transformed into the tree of life--from the depths of its roots when it absorbs its nutrition to the height of its crown, its buds, leaves and blossoms. AIts fruit will be for food and its leaf for healing.@ This supernal view of goodness is viewed by the soul of the soul of the Torah, which sends its sparks in a hidden manner to all who cling to the lights of God, who desire the glory of God, who say, AMay the name of God be magnified beyond every label and word, beyond every speech, expression and utterance, beyond every thought and conception.@ ATo You, silence is praise.@ AGive thanks to God, for He is good, for His kindness endures forever.@ Orot Hakodesh II, pp. 468-69 WITH ALL YOUR HEART
by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook Rav Kook=s love for the land of Israel and his yearning to make aliyah burned in his heart with a great flame. During his term as rabbi of Boisk, he wrote in his journal: As long as a person does not clearly understand the worth of the human soul, the worth of the Jewish people, the worth of the Holy Land, the longing that every Jew should have for the rebuilding of the Temple, and the greatness of Israel and their elevation in the world, it is almost impossible for him to have a sense of what it means to serve God. Our Sages said that the verse, Aserve Him with all your heart@ refers to Aservice in the heart, which is prayer.@ If so, prayer is service. And service is fitting only when, due to our awe of God, the subject matter of prayer is close to our heart... If a person does not know the worth of the Jewish people, how will he pray with a complete heart for their redemption? When we say the words, ABlessed are You, God, Who redeems Israel,@ we refer not only to our own sufferings regarding the yoke of our exile. The wording of the blessing testifies that it refers to the aspect of the worth of the people of Israel and their sanctity. And if a person doesn=t realize the worth of the Holy Land, its uniqueness and holiness, how will he pray for the building of Jerusalem? Prayer is something that comes precisely from the depths of the heart-when we feel that we are lacking something. Malachim Kivnei Adam (by Simchah Raz), quoting Musar Avichah, pp. 19-20 THE REDEMPTION OF THE WORLD by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook My precious brothers who dwell in Jerusalem (our holy and beautiful city, may it soon be rebuilt), those who dwell in Jaffa (the holy city), in the holy settlements and other holy cities, may they be rebuilt: Elevating feelings of holiness that fill my spirit with strength coming from the glory of our holy land (to which God has allowed me to return after the days of my wandering in exile) together with the love-filled meeting I had with all of you--who represented a variety of circles--now that I have returned to holiness, have broadened my soul. And so I place before you my thanks. And [I extend my] blessing that our hope and the desire of our souls be fulfilled: that we will see the ever-growing success of the work that begins the blossoming of the salvation of our people on this holy soil (with the help of God). [May we see this
success come as a consequence] of the blessing of peace that rests upon the community of Israel dwelling in Zion, and as a consequence of the unity of all our various strengths, each with its own character, all directed to that goal elevated in holiness: the complete lifting of the horn of Israel upon its holy soil. When I truly realize that the richness of the holy glory that permeates our people=s movement for building [the land] and our rebirth upon the Holy Land gives us our strength and beauty--both within and without--then I am filled with hope that all our abilities, in all their various aspects, will unite into one bond so that they will all help make clear and illumine the holy radiance of the soulful life that characterizes the atmosphere of our land, [an atmosphere] that stands ready to be ever more revealed as a result of our united work--spiritual and physical, work of the holy and work of the secular, together. And I am filled with prayer that the Rock of Israel and our Redeemer will graciously give us power and strength, grace and lovingkindness, so that we may work with all the beloved builders of the nation of God in building up the entire nation upon the holy land, and that He will allow me to serve them all with a true love and a holy leadership until we see, quickly, all of us together, the joy of our nation and the glory of our inheritance with the redemption of the world. May it be the will of our Father in heaven, Who dwells in Zion and Who chooses Jerusalem, that this year (which is coming upon us and upon all Israel for good) will be a year of recuperation and healing for all our maladies-physical and spiritual, individual and public, private and communal. May it be a year of peace and tranquility, love, honor and grace; a year of fruitful labor that will re-establish the ruins of our holy land and the building of the house of Israel upon its holy soil; a year of unity of all our actions and the directions of our spirit to work with one intent for God and His nation and the building of His beloved land; a year when we will gather at our holy and beautiful Temple; a year of complete redemption and salvation, and the lifting up of the horn of the house of Israel for fame and renown to all the ends of the earth. Your faithful brother and servant, who signs with the hope for salvation, uplifting and strength and the beauty of Zion and Jerusalem, quickly, in our days, amen. THE AS-YET-UNKNOWN STATE OF ISRAEL by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook A political state does not constitute a person=s supernal satisfaction. That is true of a normative political state, one which rises to no higher purpose than comprising a large regulating body, above which--and not touching it--hover the many ideals that are the crown of life. However, this is not the case with a state that is, at its core, idealistic, in whose being is incised the most exalted idealistic content.
Such a state indeed comprises an individual=s greatest happiness. It is indeed the highest rung upon the ladder of happiness. This will be our state, the state of Israel. It will be the foundation of the throne of God within the world, with its entire desire being that AHashem will be one and His name will be one.@ selection from Malachim Kivnei Adam YOU ARE ENTIRELY BEAUTIFUL short teachings by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook I. The divine spirit flows without cease upon the Community of Israel. It irrigates with its moisture all the souls of all Jews. And even the lowest ranks--of the crass and of Jewish criminals--are included within this. II. The great dreams are the foundation of the world. There are different levels: The prophets dream-- Ain a dream will I speak to him.@ The poets dream while awake. The great thinkers dream of the rectification of the world. And we dream, all of us, of when AHashem will restore the return to Zion.@ III. The great love that I have for my nation does not blind me from seeing all its flaws. But I find its essence--even after the most unrestrained scrutiny--to be clean of any flaw. AYou are entirely beautiful, my beloved, you are without blemish@ (Shir Hashirim). IV. The most extreme Jewish heretic is more of a believer than the greatest believer among non-Jews. selections from Malachim Kivnei Adam SHOOT THE MURDERERS by Raabbi Moshe Tzi Neria During the 1929 Arab pogroms in Hebron and Jerusalem, on Shabbos, the eighteenth of Av, Rav Kook contacted John Lock, the head secretary (who, because the highest British official was outside the country, was in charge) and demanded that he take strong measures against the rioting Arabs. "The Mandate government," said Rav Kook, "has accepted upon itself the responsibility for order and security of life in the land, and it must fulfill its responsibility." The chief secretary excused himself that it wasn't clear to him what should be done. Rav Kook replied, "You must give orders to shoot the murderers!"
The chief secretary replied, "I don't have such orders from my superiors." "What?" replied Rav Kook sharply. "To save innocent citizens from the attacks of murders you need orders from your superiors? I give you the order. In the name of human conscience, I demand that you fulfill your obligation and defend the lives of the Jewish citizens in our land." Sometime later, Rav Kook was invited to a welcoming reception given at which John Lock was shaking the hands of all the guests. When he extended his hand to Rav Kook, Rav Kook didn't take it but replied in an emotional, forceful voice, "I am not prepared to shake the hand that is responsible for the spilling of blood!" Likutei Harayah, pp. 256-57 THE GOOD TREASURE by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook Our temporal existence is one spark of the eternal existence of the beauty of everlasting eternities. The good treasure that is hidden in the content of temporal life can only be brought into being to the extent that it parallels eternal life. An inner awareness of this permeates the spirit of all existence. Not all the spiritual wars will succeed in shifting this [awareness] from its place. Instead, to the very greatest extent, [these wars will] clear the paths before [this awareness]. Even that which opposes [this awareness] also, in the depth of truth, supports it. Arpelei Tohar MARKED BORDERS by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook All spiritual concepts in the Torah are like borders that have been marked so that we may come to them. We do so by employing the means that lead to them with the proper preparations. If we will want to come to them paying no mind to the fundamental nature of these preparations, we will attain not truthful but illusory matters. AThe lazy man has hidden his hand in the plate; neither will he bring it to his mouth.@ Orot Hatorah 8:4 AI AM THE SOUL OF REB NACHMAN@
by Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Neriah In regard to the influence of Hasidism on Rav Kook, the author and thinker R. Hillel Zeitlin, writes, AIt is clear to me that Rav Kook based himself not only on the works of Chabad but also on the Kedushas Levi, the writings of R. Mordechai Yosef of Izbitz and his son (Mei Hashiloach and Beis Yaacov) and the works of the Cohen of Lublin--but most of all, on Likutei Moharan, and the other works of the great seer of Breslov@ (R. Hillel Zeitlin, Hatzofeh, eve of Rosh Hashanah 5699). And we have added testimony regarding Rav Kook=s connection with Breslov Hasidism from R. Yisrael Porat: AAccording to what [Rav Kook] told me personally...his heart was drawn to the ways of service of Hasidism, and in particular he was devoted to the mysterious teachings of R. Nachman of Breslov. He read and reviewed his works and talks a great deal, and studied his ideas@ (R. Yisrael Porat). I was told by Rabbi Shmuel Horowitz of Meron that he had heard from R. Meir Anshin, an elder Breslover who had lived for a while in Jaffa, where he would often visit the home of Rav Kook, that R. Nosson of Nemirov=s Likutei Tefilos (based on the teachings of Likutei Moharan) was on the shelf of R. Kook=s prayer stand, and he would occasionally look into it. And a Breslover of Jerusalem, R. Yechiel Greenwald, told me that Rav Kook once said: AAni nishmas Rebbe Nachman@ (AI am the soul of R. Nachman@). Chayei Harayah, pp. 171-72 THE ROOT OF THE TORAH by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook When a person rises to elevated thoughts and arranges his paths in accordance with them in the depths of his spirit, he comes to the root of the Torah in its elevated form, whose goal is to raise the world to its intended elevation. Then of itself, all that he learns of the details of the Torah is not something new to him. Rather, it is like a remembrance of something that already exists in his potential. And this is the inner meaning of the statement that Asince they are pious, their Torah lasts.@ Orot Hatorah 6:4 THE SWEETNESS by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook
A diminution of the sweetness of the pleasantness of Torah results from something lacking in the Jewish nature of the soul. [The soul] must be rectified by means of self-growth directed toward this lack. And when our mind is engaged in rectifying this lack, immediately the supernal light of the holy nature of our soul again shines, and the sweetness of the Torah again begins to be revealed. Orot Hatorah 7:4 HORSES OF FIRE by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook A>Horses of fire= refers to the letters of the Torah@ (Introduction, Tikunei Zohar). Sometimes an idea is so powerful that a person cannot grasp it with his own strength. But his inspiration is magnified when he bonds with the letter in the Torah. And that capability rises much beyond his own strength, like the swift and certain passage of a chariot. There is a type of person who travels only by foot. He makes his way using the might of his deep study of the Torah in a general fashion. He is not aided in understanding matters by means of the letters of the Torah. There is another type of person who lacks the strength to walk. Instead, he travels exclusively upon the letters of the Torah, [>the horses of fire=]--even in those matters that are simple, where a healthy man should travel by foot, using his own ability. And there is another type of person. He goes by foot whenever he can. And when he does utilize the letters of the Torah, it is not out of weakness. Rather, he is like a man riding gloriously upon a horse, lending a crown to [the Torah] that he is involved with, or riding to a place that he could not have reached with his own ability, but only, in addition, by means of seeking out the letters of the Torah. Orot Hatorah 5:4 WHEN YOUR HEALTHY HEART EXPANDS by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook When your healthy heart expands with the might of the strength of the pulse, the flow of blood through the finest and most distant blood vessels, and when your mind is so strong that it can understand the foundation of Torah and its principles, how its many details are a necessary outcome of its totality, then your outlook grows clear and all-encompassing, and you attain a great love and feelings of respect and appreciation of holiness for every matter and precise
detail in the Torah. Orot Hatorah 3:4 THE UNBORDERED LIGHT by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook In every Torah matter, in every aspect of a particular decree, streams the supernal, unbordered light. The total divine lesson can be extracted from every individual law. To the observer who accustoms his soul to the stream of light, within every legal matter is revealed the content of its innate being, which is filled from the world of bright illumination, until in regards to every law and chapter he can give breadth to a new song, a full song, a full exposition. This song pours forth continuously even upon every detail of the law, upon every path of discussion within it, until a poetic commentary that gives pleasure and creates Eden can spread across all the Torah, entirely, upon all the Torah--even the this-worldly and legal Torah--besides extending across all the Aggadic material, which shines with an illumination of a fine spiritual light. Orot Hatorah 4:4 ENRICHING THE COMMUNITY OF ISRAEL by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook One way of learning Torah for its own sake is [to do so in order] to enrich the Community of Israel with great spiritual powers. The more that the light of Torah increases, so that with one heart the people of Israel appreciate and respect it, the more that the fundamental power of our nation gains strength and firmness. And the individual soul of the person who brings about this universal blessing itself grows and gains glory, gains completion and beauty, with a multitude of fresh branches. And it sends forth a multitude of powerful roots, through which it takes root amidst the roots of the Tree of true life. To the degree of its purity and might, this soul recognizes and feels the depth of the pleasantness of the good taste of a fulfilled life. AYour palate is like good wine. It goes directly to my beloved. It causes the lips of the sleeping to murmur@ (Shir Hashirim 7:10).[?] Orot Hatorah 2:4 THE DISTANT ISLES by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook When [righteous people] are connected with the activities of a normal
life, they draw a light of supernal life into these this-worldly matters, and sanctify them for the entire world--and, how much more, for themselves. Similarly, they raise the worth of all minor things to a state that is elevated, great and uplifted. When these righteous people--people who are constantly in the presence of the bond of supernal life and upon whom the blissful light of God=s holiness shines constantly--descend and engage in simple speech, this-worldly words, they know and recognize how the elevated stature of a completely holy life permeates everything hidden there. And from there, they unveil this light and bring it--with knowledge and mindfulness, and with the might of the life within souls--to a supernal place where holy life shines openly, revealed and not hidden, with an unmistakable, sparkling radiance. When such people descend and look at the world with a superficial glance, when they turn to study this-worldly fields of knowledge-- as well as bizarre matters, such as sorcery and strange, unclean faiths--from everything they draw the rays of His light and the scattered sparks of the holy life. From it all, they make crowns of grace with which to fill the light of life entirely, with which to fill the glory of supernal holiness from all sides. How great this service is. So much deep knowledge, elevated understanding, goodness of heart and love of truth for all creatures, and light of a holy fire that is a thirsty yearning for closeness to the true God (a natural tendency toward taking pleasure in God throughout the entire fulness of one=s soul)--all these, and more, fill the heart of these princes of holiness, who know how to stand in the breach, to erect a fence and extend their awareness to the distances, to proclaim the praises of God to the ends of the earth, to the distant isles, and to sanctify the holy of holiness and beautify the beauty of the Life of worlds. Arpelei Tohar THE CONSTANT ANTICIPATION OF THE GREAT OF SOUL by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook It is necessary to develop that which is closed and hidden. The hidden light must send forth the rays of its light in order to bring life to those who are lowly in spirit. It is impossible to remain in the terrible constricted state in which the world finds itself. However, not even the most supernal longings may skip any level. [They must go through everything, for] everything must be enhanced through them and by them. When we wish to rectify everything, when we wish to improve the soul of all existence, to refine the very highest of the high, then we must rectify all human qualities. We must perfect the life of the individual and the life of the
community, using the appropriate means. A straight mind, Torah, the light of divine manifestation, the vision within holiness, the purity of the Holy of Holies, the emanated image (drawing sustenance from the very primal heavens): all these will help to perfect and rectify, to scatter the darkening clouds, to circumcise the foreskin of every heart and all flesh, to broaden the boundary of knowledge and intelligence, to free the spirit from all chains of foolishness and evil, to lift everything small and lowly by means of idea and desire, by means of awareness and natural tendency, to the height of abundance of what is great and high, to the heights that transcend every name and label, to a total elevation in the presence of whose brilliance all radiance and all brilliance are dulled. For every most supernal goal, we must use all means and combine all paths, matching them to each other so that every path will add to the other might and life: expertise and craft, power and strength, song and beauty, prayer and Torah, talent for business and Godly service and true strength, love and full kindness, and the force of a spirit filled with strength, clarity of mind and a broad, rich, analytical power and a simple heart--with supernal faith, with a treasury of force and vigor, in the treasury of goodness and its source and the elevated aspect of all being. All labels, all sparks, everything integrated and everything in order, everything individually emphasized and everything in harmony, everything in vision and in potential, and everything in actuality and true sovereignty, in the full understanding of existence and being, everything together: the Almighty unites them together. This, and more than this, is the constant anticipation of the great of soul. Arpelei Tohar, pp. 3-4 CEASELESSLY CONNECTED by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook Holy people are ceaselessly connected to union with God. They cannot at all imagine for themselves a life absent of this pleasure of clinging to the Divine. But every human thought has mixed into it a great deal of delusory imagination, and this is accompanied by a multitude of evil traits that spread like branches emerging from a small root, or like a profusion of plant-life from one seed. Therefore, these people must clarify their clinging to the Divine by learning Torah and performing God=s commandments, so that it will be entirely clear and holy. Orot Hakodesh IV, p. 459
IN ALIGNMENT WITH SPIRITUAL REALITY by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook We must put ourselves in alignment with physical nature and its forces. We must learn its ways and actions, which derive from the general principles governing the world--a world of which we ourselves are a part. And these principles govern within ourselves just as they do outside us. In the same way, and even more so, we must--we are forced to--put ourselves in alignment with the rules of spiritual nature. These rules govern the entirety of nature even more [than do the physical rules]. [Reality] is a part of [that spiritual nature,] whose principles rule within it even more [than do the physical principles]. The alpha and omega of this alignment is the supernal core of clinging to the Divine in all our ways and all our actions, all our feelings and all our thoughts. Every alignment with spiritual reality--which encompasses everything-flows forth from [that core], and returns to it. AGod, You have been our dwelling-place in every generation. Before the mountains were born, before You made the earth and land, You have always been God. You bring a person down, and then say, >Return, humanity!=@ (Tehillim 90:1-2). Orot Hakodesh IV, p. 440 TO CLING TO GOD by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook To cling to God is a person=s most natural desire. Human beings have something developed within themselves, in an intellectual and emotional form, that exists in the entirety of all creation in a mute and silent form, a potential form. And as for Israel: the nature of this people takes this desire as the basis of its national life, congruent with its historical fate. A desire to cling completely to the living God, to the light of the Infinite Being, is something whose substitute can never be found in natural being. Just as we must live, just as we must eat and grow, so must we cling to God. Clinging to God--this thing that is demanded of us in the entire fullness of our soul--must continuously develop within us, continuously grow ever more
profound in feeling, ever more clear in recognition and understanding. There is no way that humanity--or, for that matter, the entirety of existence--can live without the stream of desire to cling to the Divine. [This desire] lives constantly within [everything] in a hidden and concealed manner. The childhood of humanity, the days when darkness lay thick and corporeal, placed into the world the foundations of a type of life that has preventing clinging to the Divine from emerging in its entire fullness. It is impossible to imagine the pain of the universal, encompassing Soul, and the inner soul-pain of every living being and every human being, due to this spiritual oppression, to the blockage of goodness hidden within it, [a goodness] that shines so much and refines so much, that quickens a life of expansiveness, a life of eternity, a life of great stature and might. It must have this life. [This life] is the essence of its nature and meaning. Orot Hakodesh IV, p. 439
ALL TEACHINGS by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook All teachings, rulings, thoughts, ethics, impressions, structures, civilities, wisdoms, songs, wills, springings of life, movements of being (its progression, its grasp of the nature of being): are none other than treasures filled with a happiness that [God=s] Will, which transcends everything, shall for our sake--in the might of its power and in the splendor of its victory in the foundation of its glory and in the height of the desire for the glory of its sovereignty--be revealed and seen in [all things], fully shining. From the lowest movement, matters continue in their ordered way, without cease, to the supernal heights. Political community; individual life, desires, worries, the lowest needs of existence, the desire to uplift all (the entire nation, the entire world, all being, all souls, all senses, all proclivities), to unite all worlds, to conquer death, to enrich the life of lives from the heights of its source--all these desires, and everything higher than they, without any separation or polarity, are established in the soul of the totality, in the form of the Congregation of Israel, in the visage of Yaacov. And every differentiation within these levels between supernal and low,
between individual and general--each becomes a basis to the other. And that which is superior becomes [the other=s] inner being, soul, and light. Arpelei Tohar TORAH SCHOLARS WHO ARE HEALTHY by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook In order to conquer lawlessness and destructive atheism, we must educate Torah scholars who are healthy physically and in all psychological and spiritual areas. They must be properly educated to have an acute recognition of the pleasurable feelings that come from involvement with the transcendent within the beauty of song and poetry, as well as from [involvement with] the glory of nature and the beauty evident in the creations of man. AA beautiful house, a beautiful wife and beautiful utensils--these expand a person=s mind.@ Orot Ha=emunah, p. 17 THE CONSTANT PRAYER OF THE SOUL by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook The constant prayer of our soul is always striving to emerge from concealment to revelation, to spread through all the life-powers of our entire spirit and all the life-powers of our entire body. This constant prayer is also yearning to reveal its nature and the might of its action to all of its surroundings, to the entire world and to life. To attain such a level, we must engage in a self-inquiry that results from our study of Torah and wisdom. And so the service of learning all of Torah and all of its wisdom is in itself the constant revelation of the hidden prayer of our soul. AThe soul of every living thing will bless Your name, Hashem our God.@ Olat Ra=ayah A BOOK OF TEACHINGS by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook It seems that we can only fulfill our obligations regarding the Aduties of the heart@--[e.g., faith, love of God, and so forth]--by composing a book of teachings relevant to ourselves on the subject. This is [certainly] so in regard to particulars. But when we create our own insights, we can even understand the general principles better.
If a person is already at this stage of consciousness where he can construct structures of thought in his mind, he can achieve self-perfection only if he applies his mind to this. Musar Avichah, Introduction AThe essence of learning--that which causes an impression on a person-is the learning that comes as a result of writing@ (Maharsha on Bava Batra 10b). IF YOU DESIRE by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook If you desire, human being, look at the light of God=s Presence in everything. Look at the Eden of spiritual life, at how it blazes into each corner and crevice of life, spiritual and of this world, right before your eyes of flesh and your eyes of soul. Gaze at the wonders of creation, at their divine life--not like some dim phenomenon that is placed before your eyes from afar. But know the reality in which you live. Know yourself and your world. Know the thoughts of your heart, and of all who speak and think. Find the source of life inside you, higher than you, around you. [Find] the beautiful ones alive in this generation in whose midst you are immersed. The love within you: lift it up to its mighty root, to its beauty of Eden. Send it spreading out to the entire flood of the soul of the Life of worlds, Whose light is reduced only by incapable human expression. Gaze at the lights, at what they contain. Do not let the Names, phrases and letters swallow up your soul. They have been given over to you. You have not been given over to them. Rise up. Rise up, for you have the power. You have wings of the spirit, wings of powerful eagles. Do not deny them, or they will deny you. Seek them, and you will find them instantly. Orot Hakodesh I, pp. 83-84
SUPERNAL HOLINESS by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook When supernal holiness rests upon an individual and upon the community, it places them upon the level of the supernal Will that manifests within all being. And thus it also causes the primal light that vivifies that holy and elevated Will to shine within them. Then one=s specific will is not constricted and darkened, closed within the straits of an awareness and desire determined by the constricted conditions of existence. Instead, it bursts upward, and it shines ever more strongly, beyond understanding. It unites with the very innermost being of Supernal Pleasantness, [also known as] Divine Freshness, in all its fullness and goodness, which descends to all existence with its stream of light. When one=s will rises to these supernal heights, it renews the entire mold of existence in an elevated state. The laws of life, the laws of heaven and earth, shine with that supernal light: a light of greatness; a light of the manifestation of life in all existence in a supernal form, in a broad and full form; a light of the Light of universes, the Source of true life. Arpelei Tohar, pp. 2-3 THE DIVIDED SOUL by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook When the soul was created as a joined double form [as were Adam and Eve], it did not have the capacity for the perspective of this world. Only after the soul divided did it gain this ability. There are souls of elevated tzaddikim that have not yet been completely divided. These tzaddikim can only gaze with depth, and with an understanding that transcends by far all the structures of finite reality. But out of their desire to help everyone, they undergo the process of being divided. As a result, the power of this-worldly understanding broadens within them. And then they return to their elevated state, equipped with a great this-worldly teaching, with an understanding of a broad and complete service. Then they connect to the realm of the Apleasantness of God@ through a
clear lens, a lens that directs the entirety of this-worldly reality. They are like Moshe, whom God knew Aface to face,@ [and by whose name tzaddikim are praised with the words,] AMoshe, you have spoken well@ (Shabbat 101b). Arpelei Tohar, pp. 100-01 THE GOOD TREASURE by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook Everything that is said about the greatness of man as well as everything that is said about his insignificance is true. If he is worthy, he takes precedence over Creation. If he is unworthy, a flea is more important than he. Thus, we must always use these opposite points of view for the good. When it comes to divine, supernal teachings, when it comes to pouring forth our spirit for the sake of glorious and elevated ideals, we must draw power from the perspective of our greatness: of how man is the central point of the most primal creations, of how all acts of creation are included within him. When man rises, everything rises; when he falls, everything falls. But when it comes to concerted action and societal endeavors (communal or private) within the secular sphere, then AGo to the ant, lazy one; look at her paths and grow wise.@ We must then make use of the perspective that Aa flea is more important than you.@ Arpelei Tohar, p. 100 GREAT STUDY by Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Neriah As a result of Rav Kook=s connection to the teachings of Breslov and his close relations with Breslovers, when his only son, R. Tzvi Yehudah, went to learn from R. Epstein in Yeshivas Toras Chaim in Jerusalem, the Breslover Hasidim of Jerusalem befriended him and tried to draw him into their circle and way of service (hisbodedus meditation, midnight tikun chatzos, immersion in the mikveh, and so forth). R. Tzvi Yehudah decided to ask his father for guidance, and his father=s response was not long in coming. This response contained a certain measure of reserve (for that which is fit for adults is not appropriate for youngsters who are still maturing). And here is part of his reply. AThe inner quality of this man, [R. Nachman,] requires great study. For this, however, one needs a healthy heart and a healthy spirit, a path of good hygiene (both psychological and physical) and a fitting and straight connection to other studies--both those that support and those that disagree with [Breslov=s] points of view. In that way, matters will be properly illuminated.@ Despite this expression of reserve and the [expressed] need for an appropriate critical approach, Rav Kook had great appreciation for R.
Nachman=s person and the teachings of Breslov. When Yeshiva Chasidei Breslov was founded in Jerusalem, Rav Kook sent a letter (dated Thursday, Adar I 5692) of congratulations to the rabbis Awho founded a yeshiva in which will be learned, together with other topics of Torah and piety, the wondrous works of the rabbi, the holy gaon, unique in his uplifted thoughts, Moharan of Breslov.@ Chayei Harayah, pp. 171-72 TO TEACH THE SONS OF YEHUDAH by Prof. Chaim Lifschutz Following the Hebron pogrom in 5689, Rav Kook learned from one of his students (R. Khad Sovol) that a religious division of the Haganah was being organized, which would not train on the Sabbath (as the Haganah did). Rav Kook supported this and said that the time had indeed come Ato teach the sons of Yehudah to use the bow.@ At that time, many of his students joined the ranks of the Haganah. Shivchei Harayah, p. 236 THE STONES OF ACCO by Prof. Haim Lifschitz Once, when a Hasidic rebbe came to the Holy Land, Rav Kook asked him the purpose of his visit. The rebbe replied, AIt is my custom to prostrate myself at the grave sites of my holy forefathers every year. But now, since the Bolsheviks have taken over Russia, I can no longer do so. And so I have come here in order to prostrate myself at the grave sites of the tzaddikim in the Holy Land.@ Rav Kook told him, AIn the land of Israel, every piece of land has holiness, and one can prostrate oneself there. As the Gemara says, >R. Abba used to kiss the stones of Acco= (Ketubot 112a).=@ Shivchei Harayah, p. 232 THE DENIAL OF IDOLATRY by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook It does not suffice to hate idolatry, to despise and loathe it, to seek its destruction, annihilation and extermination. It is necessary to deny it, to believe that it is a nothing, an emptiness, a nullity and negativity of being, totally vacuous. Only because it has smashed forth to appear like something that exists and has being is it revealed--in its disgusting nature, its ugliness, its pollution and stench, and every evil blemish, every evil name and shameful name that it possesses.
The depth of true Judaism is of a piece with the denial of idolatry, which rises ever higher and makes profound the intimate connection between the holiness of Judaism and its hatred and despising [of idolatry],with every distancing, loathing and abhorrence of [idolatry,] that entire alien nature, which issues forth like the flow of Aa ritually unclean woman, who is told, >Leave=@ (Talmud). All of this depends upon the depth of rejection of idolatry. AWhoever denies idolatry is called a Jew.@ Orot Ha=emunah, p. 5 IDOLATRY by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook If something has a touch of idolatry, we may know that, although it may have a quality of physical or even spiritual beauty, this comes only from its superficial aspect. But within it lies the venom of a profound destructiveness. If a person is bonded with a link to such a worthless faith, the site of his linkage lies within the innermost being of its content--the very thing that pours forth inner evil. This is because all idolatry is repulsed from the source of life and goodness, the source of living waters, and instead hews broken cisterns that will not hold water. Orot Ha=emunah CONCERNED FOR THE UNIVERSAL by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook Everything to which we are accustomed in regard to Torah outside the Holy Land relates to the particular. But the worth of the Torah of the land of Israel ascends to universality. Outside the land, the Torah works on rectifying the individual spirit. It is concerned for an individual=s physicality and spirituality, his purification and elevation, in this temporary life and in the eternal life--only within the framework of that individual spirit. How different is the Torah of the Land of Israel! It is always concerned for the universal, for the totality of the soul of the entire nation. The individual details enter within her inclusiveness. They rise when she rises; they are crowned when she is crowned: Aa crown of beauty to those borne from the belly, who will in the future be renewed like her and praise their Maker for the name of the glory of His kingdom.@ And also, the elevation from the individual to the universal that takes place across the entire breadth of Torah--in particular, regarding the breadth of the concepts of faith and true fear of heaven-- is an uplifted and elevated
innovation of the Torah of the land of Israel. Orot Hatorah 13:3 NATURAL CIVILITY by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook Everything in Torah must be preceded by a natural civility. If it is something upon which intellect and natural conscience agree, it must pass on a straight path with the inclination of the heart and the approval of the will deep within us. Just as we [can learn about] thievery, adultery and modesty from the ant, the dove and the cat, how much more [can we learn from] our inner recognition and spiritual sense. If it is something that transcends intellect and heart-felt inclination, it too must pass through the path of the conduit of natural civility, in regard to the connection between every detail and total inclusiveness, so that [it is an integrated unity, like] Aa good deed that draws another after it.@ Also, the fact that a sense of justice based on sensory factors is connected to Torah with the supernal, divine will as it is revealed within the light of Torah; and the fact that we are bound to the totality of the [Jewish] people throughout its generations (as it is connected in the paths of its life with the holy conception): all these are paths of natural civility. And these paths prepare us for illuminations that are more inward than the paths themselves, which will shine with a glowing, radiating clarity. Orot Hatorah 12:3 A SURGE OF SPIRITUAL POWER by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook Observing the Torah must result from a surge of spiritual power within the depth of the holiness of the soul, as it pours forth its flow of life (onto the activities of each individual and of the entire community) with a sudden outpour-and not by slow growth and linking parts together Acommand to command, line to line@ (Isaiah). Then, that which is distant [from us] draws a sustenance of life that is appropriate for itself just as that which is near [us] does. And the foundations of the Torah, including its details, decrees, enactments, customs, righteous rulings, positive articles of faith and the ramifications of all of these, all together beat with the steady pulse of their life, as one. This is not how matters proceed when there is smallness of faith. Smallness of faith comes from a contraction of logical impoverishment, when the intellect must toil before it can find a link between the essential thing that the heart does understand (to the extent that it can) and the distant branching of
individual paths. And it constantly stumbles and blunders in the paths of life. This limited intellect, with all its calculations, cannot illuminate our way. This broken vessel cannot draw forth water from the flowing and living spring of the light of God that is found in His world and in His Torah, whose strength is not withheld. So now the light of teshuvah goes forth, clearing a path for the nation. It powerfully proclaims a return to God so that we will hear His voice, walk in His ways and cling to Him. Only with this mighty strength will the nation live and survive. Then our normal intelligence, with all its ability, will be a fine servant, one that can help--to some degree--the spirit of life pulsing within the fulness of the soul, in regard to the form and shape of some specific matters. But the foundation of everything, the wellspring of life, is the spirit of God within the heart, living within the innermost part of the soul and filled with might and strength, assuring that AHe will not be still until He shall establish and make Jerusalem the object of praise upon the earth.@ Orot Hatorah 11:3
I AM WITH THE OPPRESSED by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook The Torah brings the spiritual world down to us. With this, all supernal pleasures are open to us. This is our happiness. It is the purpose for which we were created. In order to bring the spiritual world down to us, we must feel our need. AI,@ says God, Aam with the oppressed.@ The Holy One, blessed be He, carved out all the mountains and hills of the world. But He rested His Presence on Mt. Sinai, a mountain that does not vault upward. Orot Hatorah 11:4 THE PATHS OF THE MYSTERIES by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook There are people great in Torah [learning], fear of heaven and wisdom, to whom matters relating to the secrets of the Torah have no relevance, because they are on that great level and possess a breadth of resources with which to occupy their spirit in the treasures of revealed Torah and wisdom. If you instead sense within yourself an inner sensitivity to the paths of mysteries and a pressure of the yearning of your soul, do not be dismayed. Even if it grows clear that you have this desire because your ability in revealed matters
is minimal, what of it? This is, in the end, the gift of your inheritance. Rejoice in your portion, for AHashem is close to all who call to Him@--who call to him truly and whole-heartedly. And AHe does not favor the wealthy in relationship to the poor@ (Iyov 34:19). Orot Hatorah 10:4 PRECISION by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook To the degree that we gain clarity in [our understanding of] Jewish laws as we perform them and cause them to shine, we gain joy from them. [If we] lack clarity, if we do not possess a clear knowledge that clings to our soul, then we will associate adhering to Torah law precisely and in accordance with all its details with a feeling of heaviness. This can lead to a trembling weakness that will [ultimately] result in disgust with the Torah (heaven forbid). If we possess a broad mindfulness, we will not find the [Torah=s] precision--a precision of breadth--to be in the least oppressive. To the contrary, [we will see that] this precision is a consequence of perfection--just as the precision of grammar indicates the perfection of people=s speech. The value of the elevated nature of the conceptual [world] and purity of the innermost foundation of true Torah corresponds to a great precision whose details, which are expressed in action--like branches extending from their root-are many and broad. A person of understanding and perception takes these all in with one broad glance. If that precision in action is lacking, then a clear image of the elevated nature of the value of the divine Torah, the elevated nature of its rules and laws, and the preciousness of their worth will totter. Then the loss that will in consequence affect the entire spiritual burden borne by the soul of all Judaism for humanity in general and for Israel in particular is beyond measure. Therefore, we have the great responsibility that, when we clarify halachah, to learn Torah for its own sake: [seeing to it that what we learn will be as free from imprecision] as a garment is bleached [of stains]. Then learning the precise details (in their breadth) will be the outcome of the pleasure in understanding a supernal concept and its joyful state. This is one way--it is a glorious way--to learn Torah for its own sake. It is one of the forty-eight paths by which the Torah is acquired: in joy and purity. An inner knowledge of clear understanding certainly leads to the strengthening of this path. Orot Hatorah 9:4
THE WEAPON OF THE AGE by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook I come to rouse you and all the young people who seek encouragement in [leading a] spiritual life--a life that is truly made honorable and perfected (with the help of God)--regarding the topic of literary expertise. We have the obligation to acquire literary ability, a style that is alive in all its hues: prosaic and poetic. If there is a person among us who feels in his spirit a talent for song and poetry, he should not ignore that talent. There should be training, training that will teach the children of Judah to use this bow (cf. Shmuel II 1:18). Ultimately, my teaching (to myself and to others) is that the measure of peace and kindness must take precedence within our souls and abilities. Nevertheless, we must arm ourselves in the divine war against Amalek, who is both within us and outside of us. And we have the obligation to prepare the weapon of the age: the pen. We must translate into a modern style the entirety of our holy treasure, the treasure of the opinions and feelings of almost the entire Torah, in order to bring them close to the people of our generation. source: I misplaced it! (which also means that some phrases are likely mistranslated) EVERY TREE as told to Chaim Lipschitz by R. Shmuel Hacohen Kook One time Rav Kook went for a walk with his brother, R. Shmuel. They sat down to rest under a non-fruit-bearing tree, and R. Shmuel plucked a leaf. Rav Kook was taken aback and told him, AWhat did you do? Everything planted in the ground has value. What is planted today gives life to the earth. We have the four species that we take on Succos--chag ha=asif, the harvest festival. They represent the gifts of the earth. And the reason that one of them is a willow is to teach us that even a non-fruit-bearing tree has value.@ Shivchei Harayah
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From the Well of Kindness:

Teachings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook

translated by Yaacov Dovid Shulman

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